Understanding SHBG

Kevin Meirs

Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2018
Messages
20
Hey,

a friend of mine ( indeed a friend, not myself... ) is 52 years old, has high Testo but very high
SHBG which leads to low levels of free T.
So he is getting a drug by his doctor which opposes SHBG; so far so good.
But to me this is just treating symptoms, not the cause.
SHBG is produced by the liver; my friends doctor is saying that that happens naturally with aging
but couldn`t that be a sign of liver malfunction or something other?

Frank
 

Kartoffel

Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2017
Messages
1,199
Hey,

a friend of mine ( indeed a friend, not myself... ) is 52 years old, has high Testo but very high
SHBG which leads to low levels of free T.
So he is getting a drug by his doctor which opposes SHBG; so far so good.
But to me this is just treating symptoms, not the cause.
SHBG is produced by the liver; my friends doctor is saying that that happens naturally with aging
but couldn`t that be a sign of liver malfunction or something other?

Frank

High SHBG and low free testosterone is good. Unless your friend has very high estrogen at the same, the high SHBG is nothing to worry about. Does your friend have any health problems or is he just treating a number because his doctor told him to? Low SHBG would be a sign of liver disease. It's produced in the liver, and very low levels of SHBG are a sign of liver malfunction/damage.
 

Kartoffel

Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2017
Messages
1,199
What about having LOW SHBG levels? What do low SHBG levels indicate, and how could that be fixed? @Kartoffel

Low levels of SHBG are strongly associated with hypothyroidism and liver damage. Fixing thyroid function and liver function will probably increase it. Insoluble fiber has also been shown to increase it quickly, probably by reducing LPS absorption. Saturated fat should be beneficial because of its' liver protective effects. Protein intake is the only macronutrient that is inversely associated with SHBG, and I think high-protein diets are likely to lower both total testosterone as well as SHBG.

Eur J Endocrinol. 1995 May;132(5):594-8.
Opposite effects of thyroid hormones on binding proteins for steroid hormones (sex hormone-binding globulin and corticosteroid-binding globulin) in humans.
Dumoulin SC1, Perret BP, Bennet AP, Caron PJ.

Abstract
Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) levels were evaluated in euthyroid (N = 111), hyper- (N = 58) and hypothyroid (N = 38) men, in pre- and postmenopausal women (study 1) and in hyper- (N = 24) and hypothyroid (N = 15) patients before and after treatment with carbimazole or levothyroxine therapy (study 2). The SHBG levels are increased in hyper- and decreased in hypothyroid patients, whereas CBG levels are increased in hypo- and decreased in hyperthyroid patients. The SHBG levels are higher in women than in men with similar thyroid status. Plasma SHBG levels are correlated positively whereas CBG levels are correlated negatively with free thyroid hormone concentrations in men as well as women. In hypothyroid patients, SHBG concentrations increased (p < 0.01) and CBG concentrations decreased (p < 0.01) during levothyroxine treatment. In hyperthyroid patients, SHBG concentrations decreased (p < 0.01) and CBG concentrations increased (p < 0.01) during antithyroid treatment. The SHBG and CBG concentrations in treated hypo- and hyperthyroid patients were not significantly different from those of euthyroid controls. Our data indicate that SHBG and CBG levels depend on thyroid status. Corticosteroid-binding globulin is an index of thyroid hormone action at the liver level whose changes are opposite to those of SHBG in hyper- and hypothyroidism.
 
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