What is a-Pregnanediol (male levels)?

A-Pregnanediol is a metabolite of progesterone.

Progesterone is present in men but at a much lower level than found in premenopausal women. Progesterone is known as a female hormone, but males need progesterone to produce testosterone. Its function involves the development of sperm.

Pregnanediol is the major progesterone metabolite, and is present in appreciable quantities in the urine. Progesterone is not excreted in urine in detectable quantities. Thus, values of progesterone are very well “tracked” by pregnanediol values, and this value is an adequate reflection of free progesterone.

Alpha– and beta–Pregnanediol are usually used as surrogate markers, because they are the most abundant metabolites.

Natural production by the testes and adrenals in men starts to decrease with aging and can lead to an imbalance, not only of progesterone, but also lead to decreased testosterone and an increase of estrogen.

Lower levels:

Symptoms of low progesterone in males include:

-Low progesterone levels in men can lead to hair loss.
-Low libido
-Hair loss
-Weight gain
-Fatigue
-Depression
-Gynecomastia, which is breast development in males
-Erectile dysfunction
-Impotence
-Bone loss
-Muscle loss

Men with low progesterone levels have a higher risk of developing:

-Osteoporosis
-Arthritis
-Prostate cancer
-Prostatism – difficulties with urination as a result of obstruction, typically associated with an enlarged prostate gland.

Higher levels:

Causes of Increased Progesterone in Males:

-High dose Pregnenalone supplementation

-Testicular cancer

-Tumors of the adrenals.

References:

-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15669543

-http://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/166820/1/Prog.%20Neurobiol%202014.pdf

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