title: Androgens, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and carrier proteins (SHBG, IGFBP-3) in postmenopause.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determinate the profile of androstenedione (A), total (T), and free testosterone (FT), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEA-sulphate (DHEAS), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in non-smoking, postmenopausal women of normal weight and to search for correlations between hormones and carrier proteins and chronological age, number of years of postmenopause and age of onset of menopause.
  
  
  METHODS
  A group of 149 postmenopausal women aged 49 to 74 years were divided into three groups based on the number of years of postmenopause: 2-4 years (group A), 9-12 years (group B), and 19 years or more (group C). Seventy-two women aged 21 to 35 years were the controls. Hormones and carriers were assessed in all groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A, DHEA, DHEAS, and IGF-I were significantly lower than controls in all groups, whereas T, FT, SHBG, and IGBFP-3 were lower only in groups B and C. All hormones and carriers were negatively correlated with the number of years of postmenopause; DHEA and T also showed a positive correlation with the age of onset of menopause.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Androgens, SHBG, and IGF-I/IGFBP-3 show a diversified decline in postmenopause that is involved in the physiological aging process. Thus, a modification, in excess or deficiency, could favor the development of central symptoms or pathologies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecological Endocrinology, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy. alessandro.gambera@tin.it
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gambera
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Scagliola
authors.forename: Leopoldo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Falsetti
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sartori
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bianchi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000735:Androstenedione / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000097:blood; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / Q000097:blood; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000097:blood*; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000378:metabolism; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone; D000735:Androstenedione; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I