The Adrenocortex Stress Profile is a powerful and precise non-invasive test that evaluates levels of the body's important stress hormones, cortisol and DHEA. This profile serves as a critical tool for uncovering biochemical imbalances that can underlie anxiety, chronic fatigue, obesity, diabetes and a host of other clinical conditions. It's also a crucial tool for monitoring DHEA and/or cortisone therapy.

Changing amounts of DHEA and cortisol over an individual's lifetime may signal important alterations in adrenal function that can profoundly affect his/her energy levels, emotional state, disease resistance, and general sense of well-being. That's because adrenal hormones exert a profound influence on the body's carbohydrate, protein, and lipid metabolism, immune response, thyroid function, cardiovascular health, and overall resistance to stress.

Researchers theorize that sex hormones regulate melatonin production by modifying beta-adrenergic mechanisms. This may partially explain why significantly increased levels of melatonin are found in women during the luteal phase of ovulation. Melatonin generally exerts a strong antioxidant effect and a tendency to inhibit growth of estrogen-dependent tumors. Oversecretion, however, is associated with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), while deficiencies are strongly linked to a variety of sleep disorders. This profile evaluates the circadian pattern of melatonin secretion over a complete light-dark cycle.

It would be hard to overemphasize the importance of early identification of bone loss. The Bone Resorption Assessment should be part of an overall reproductive health evaluation for any woman over thirty, the age when bone loss begins to accelerate. If bone loss is detected early enough, interventions can arrest loss and protect against osteoporosis and bone fractures in the years following menopause. By measuring current bone turnover, this profile can help patients avoid future bone loss and fractures while monitoring the effectiveness of preventative treatments such as calcium supplementation.

Why are toxins serious? It is estimated that 60 to 80 percent of all cancers are a direct result of chemicals in our air, water and food. Further, neuroscientists are now studying the role of environmental toxins in the development of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and in mental/behavioral disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and attention deficit disorder.

Because the endocrine system relies on good nutrition for proper function, maldigestion and malabsorption of nutrients can interfere with normal hormonal function and greatly affect a woman's reproductive health. If a patient exhibits any indication of digestion problems, the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis and related tests of gastrointestinal function are useful for identifying other factors that may be contributing to hormonal imbalances.