Serious hormone fluctuations affect both men and women, but at different frequency and severity levels throughout life. In this video, HealthMaker Louann Brizendine, MD, a neuropsychiatrist, discusses the issue and the role of hormones.
Read Transcript
My specialization is in the effects of hormones on behavior, in particular the sex hormones like testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and the fluctuation of those hormones in the female brain are part of what makes what we commonly call PMS happen. So about 80-85% of women get the fluctuation in their mood during the menstrual cycle or postpartum when there is about 100,000 level drop in hormones on the day of birth.
So there are many times in a female's life that you get these large fluctuations, in the male's life it's only usually between age 9 and 15. All of you guys have an increase in testosterone about 250%.
Louann Brizendine, MD, founded and directs the UCSF Women's Mood and Hormone Clinic, which is designed to treat women experiencing disruption of mood, energy, anxiety, sexual function and well-being due to hormonal influences on the brain.
