Dehydroepiandrosterone Steroid Hormone (DHEA) Blood Test

A DHEA blood test measures DHEA in the blood which is a master, or parent, hormone that your body changes into a hormone called androstenedione.  Your body then converts androstenedione into the major female and male hormones.

Description

A DHEA blood test from Walk-In Lab measures the levels of Dehydroepiandrosterone in the blood. DHEA is a parent, or master, steroid hormone that the body changes into the androstenedione hormone (Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate or DHEA-S). The body then changes androstenedione into the major male and female hormones. A DHEA blood test is often combined with a DHEA-S blood test, which both can additionally indicate how well adrenal glands are functioning.

Dehydroepiandrosterone is a steroid hormone produced by both the testis and adrenal glands (cortex). DHEA levels increase before the onset of adrenarche (puberty), and decrease significantly with as people age. DHEA and DHEA-S are the major precursors of 17-ketosteroids. This blood test can also be used to evaluate adrenal carcinomas, which often secrete large volumes of DHEA.

Is DHEA-S the same as DHEA?

No, but they are very similar. DHEA-S is a steroid androgen, or hormone, present in women and men. DHEA has an extra sulfate molecule attached to it and is made in the testes, ovaries and adrenal glands. The body converts DHEA-S into DHEA with an the steroid sulfatase enzyme. The body also reverses this process and can transform DHEA back into DHEA-S. r body makes