Hormones 2016

Blood tests
• SHBG,
• testosterone levels,
• estradiol levels (unknown, 2005)
These are some of the more usual blood tests requested.
Any of these further tests could be required -
• calcium and phosphorus (skeletal health)
• serum androgen levels (unknown, 2005)
Alanine aminotransferase - ALT
An alanine aminotransferase (ALT) test measures the amount of this
enzyme in the blood. ALT is found mainly in the liver, but also in smaller
amounts in the kidneys, heart, muscles, and pancreas. ALT was formerly
called serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT).
ALT is measured to see if the liver is damaged or diseased. Low levels
of ALT are normally found in the blood. But when the liver is damaged
or diseased, it releases ALT into the bloodstream, which makes ALT levels
go up. Most increases in ALT levels are caused by liver damage (WebMD,
2014a).
Aspartate aminotransferase - AST
An aspartate aminotransferase (AST) test measures the amount of this
enzyme in the blood. AST is normally found in red blood cells, liver, heart,
muscle tissue, pancreas, and kidneys. AST formerly was called serum
glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT).
Low levels of AST are normally found in the blood. When body tissue or
an organ such as the heart or liver is diseased or damaged, additional AST
is released into the bloodstream. The amount of AST in the blood is directly
related to the extent of the tissue damage. After severe damage, AST levels
rise in 6 to 10 hours and remain high for about 4 days (WebMD, 2014c).
Full Blood Count - FBC
The normal range describes the range where 95% of the normal healthy
population will lie. This also means that there is 5% of the normal
healthy population will fall outside the "normal range", however they
too are normal. Normal ranges are a guide. There are many instances
where the FBC will fall outside the "normal range" and yet these could be
described as totally normal for the given clinical situation, for example, it
is normal for patients who have had a splenectomy to have a moderately
raised lymphocyte count or a patient on haemofiltration to have a raised
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