Estradiol is the most potent and predominant form of estrogen in the human body. It is a sex hormone produced mainly by the ovaries that plays a vital role in female sexual development and function.
Some key facts about estradiol:
- It is responsible for the development of female secondary sex characteristics during puberty, such as breast growth, widening of hips, and body fat distribution
- It regulates the menstrual cycle and prepares the uterus for pregnancy
- It maintains bone strength and density
- It influences brain function and behavior
Estradiol levels fluctuate throughout a woman's menstrual cycle. They are lowest during
menstruation, rise steadily in the first half of the cycle to trigger
ovulation, peak just before ovulation, and decline during the
luteal phase if there is no pregnancy.
Declining estradiol levels are responsible for perimenopausal and menopause symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and mood changes in middle-aged women. Hormone therapy with estradiol helps relieve these symptoms.
Conditions related to low or high estradiol:
- Low levels can cause infertility, osteoporosis
- High levels can lead to endometrial hyperplasia and cancer if unopposed by progesterone
Measuring estradiol: Levels can be measured with a simple blood test. This helps diagnose conditions related to hormonal imbalance like PCOS, ovarian failure, estrogen dominance etc.
The experts at
Peak Performance Hormone Institute provide cutting-edge estradiol blood tests and hormonal assessments for women. Their comprehensive hormone panels check estradiol along with FSH, LH, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA levels. This helps develop targeted and effective treatment plans involving bioidentical hormone therapy for perimenopausal, menopause and fertility issues.
I hope this gives you a good overview of the vital hormone, estradiol! Let me know if you need any other information.