It is necessary to go on an empty stomach for the extraction of blood. No previous appointment is necessary, the extractions are made from 8:00am – 10:30am from Monday to Friday.
Before undergoing this test, you must temporarily stop taking any hormone-based medication, and it is also essential that the test be performed between days 3 and 5 of the menstrual cycle.
The results are delivered after 3-4 days.
This analysis is used to check hormonal alterations in women that can determine certain pathologies such as polycystic ovary (PCOS), infertility or insulin resistance (HOMA).
PCOS consists of a hormonal and metabolic alteration that is determined by an ovulation disorder caused by an excess of male hormones in the woman. It is produced when the luteinizing hormone (LH) or insulin are very high in the body, leading to an excess production of testosterone by the ovaries. Consequently, it generates irregularity in the menstrual cycle, lack of ovulation, hirsutism (increased body hair), tendency to obesity, skin pigmentation disorders, presence of multiple cysts in the ovaries and infertility.
HOMA (insulin resistance) consists of an alteration of the response of tissues to the action of insulin, causing an inadequate uptake of insulin-dependent glucose especially in the liver, muscle and fat tissue. Over time and as a result of this alteration, blood glucose levels increase and are accompanied by hyperinsulinemia due to pancreatic overproduction of insulin, leading the body to develop Diabetes Mellitus type 2. PCOS is an alteration that predisposes to the development of insulin resistance.
A study of the following hormones is carried out
- Oestradiol. Hormone synthesized mainly in the ovaries and in a small part in the adrenal glands, in the placenta in women and in the testicles in men. They control the development of the female organs and the secondary sexual characteristics in the woman (appearance of the menstruation, mammary development, appearance of pubic hair, feminine voice, etc.)
- Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH). Hormone produced in the pituitary gland and whose function is to stimulate the Graaf follicle to produce a mature egg.
- Luteinizing Hormone (LH). Also produced in the pituitary gland, it ensures that the Graafian follicle releases a mature egg.
- Prolactin. A hormone also produced in the pituitary gland, it is responsible for stimulating milk production after birth and for the manufacture of progesterone by the ovary.
- Testosterone. These are hormones produced in a small amount by the ovaries in women, in the adrenal glands in both sexes, and mainly by the testicles in men, and which are responsible for the development of male hormones and secondary sexual characteristics in men.
- DHEA. It is a basic component in the formation of testosterone (male hormone) and estrogen (female hormone). The DHEA test measures the level of the hormone in the bloodstream.
- SHBG. It is the sex hormone binding globulin. It is a protein that binds to these hormones (testosterone and estradiol), inhibiting their function. Its level is influenced by the proportions of insulin in the body.
- Insulin. It is a hormone produced and secreted by the pancreas, being essential for the metabolism of glucose. Its deficit causes diabetes mellitus, and its excess hypoglycemia. Its function is to promote the incorporation of glucose from the blood into the cells.
- Glucose. Also called glycemia or blood sugar. Useful in the detection and control of diabetes.
- HOMA analysis. The HOMA index is a measure that appears in the result of the blood test that serves to evaluate the resistance to insulin.
