Male Hormonal Balance

A hormone imbalance is when there is too little or too much of a particular hormone in one's body. Hormones are the chemical messengers in the body that travel the bloodstream to the organs and tissues. They slowly work and affect many of the body's processes over time. Endocrine glands, which are special groups of cells, make hormones.

It only requires a small amount of hormones to be out of balance to cause significant changes throughout the body. Both men and women produce hormones in the same areas with one exception, the sexual organs. Additional male hormones are produced in the testes while women's are produced in the ovaries.

The most important male sex hormone is testosterone, which influences sperm production, fertility, and sex drive. Male sex hormones also promote the development of secondary sexual characteristics at puberty. Over- or underproduction of male sex hormones may be due to a variety of factors, including inherited disorders, long-term illnesses, tumours, or lifestyle factors.

Male sex hormones, or androgens, are produced mainly by the testes but also by the adrenal glands. The production of male sex hormones is controlled by hormones secreted by the pituitary gland. In turn, the pituitary gland is under the control of a part of the brain called the hypothalamus.

The changes that occur at puberty are controlled by the sex hormones. This section starts by discussing early or late onset of puberty in boys, which may be a symptom of under- or overproduction of male sex hormones. Hypogonadism, in which male sex hormones are underproduced, is covered next. In boys, this condition can suppress sexual development; in men, hypogonadism lowers sperm production and fertility. Male hormonal disorders may lead to sexual problems and can sometimes be a cause of infertility (Male infertility).

Hormones produced in various specialized glands and cells throughout the body and are transported in the bloodstream to their specific sites of action. Hormones regulate many important body processes and functions, including growth, reproduction, and metabolism, the collective term for all the chemical reactions that occur in the body.