Could you please explain to me the difference between Free Testosterone and Tota!
Question: Could you please explain to me the difference between Free Testosterone and Total Testosterone!?
I only want answers from educated people who know what they're talking about!. Thanks!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
Testosterone is a type of hormone (a steroid hormone)!. It travels around the body in the blood!. Some of it floats about in the blood freely without being attached to anything else!. This is 'free' testosterone!. Some testosterone is attached/bound to a protein called SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin)!. Some testosterone is attached to a protein called albumin!. So 'total' testosterone is the sum of all the testosterone in the blood, no matter what it is bound to!. Free testosterone is just the free stuff floating by itself!. Only a few percent of testosterone is free!.
It is traditionally thought that only free testosterone is biologically active, i!.e!. free testosterone does all the things testosterone is supposed to do, while the bound testosterone just sits there and stays attached to SHBG or albumin and doesn't do anything!. It's kind a reserve of testosterone!. Some people disagree with this and think that the testosterone bound to albumin is also active!. Anyway, if someone has a normal amount of total testosterone, but a low amount of SHBG, then you can figure out that there must be more of the free testosterone, i!.e!. more testosterone free to have an effect on the body!. Alternatively, someone might have a high amount of SHBG which would mop up the testosterone and leave very little free testosterone!. So it can be useful to know roughly how much free testosterone there is, rather than just measuring total testosterone, which is what most tests do!.
There are several calculations that estimate the amount of free testosterone, based on how much SHBG and total testosterone there is!. It is possible to measure free testosterone directly, but it's complicated and is rarely done!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
It is traditionally thought that only free testosterone is biologically active, i!.e!. free testosterone does all the things testosterone is supposed to do, while the bound testosterone just sits there and stays attached to SHBG or albumin and doesn't do anything!. It's kind a reserve of testosterone!. Some people disagree with this and think that the testosterone bound to albumin is also active!. Anyway, if someone has a normal amount of total testosterone, but a low amount of SHBG, then you can figure out that there must be more of the free testosterone, i!.e!. more testosterone free to have an effect on the body!. Alternatively, someone might have a high amount of SHBG which would mop up the testosterone and leave very little free testosterone!. So it can be useful to know roughly how much free testosterone there is, rather than just measuring total testosterone, which is what most tests do!.
There are several calculations that estimate the amount of free testosterone, based on how much SHBG and total testosterone there is!. It is possible to measure free testosterone directly, but it's complicated and is rarely done!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
In a nut shell!.
Total = total amount in the body
Free = amount not being used!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Total = total amount in the body
Free = amount not being used!.Www@Answer-Health@Com