Eczema Bible by Christina Nevada Sands

Hormones and Eczema

The skin contains all the enzymes needed for transformation of cholesterol to steroids. Moreover, the sebaceous glands express 5a-reductase (especially in face/scalp), needed for the intracellular conversion of testosterone to the more potent 5a-dihydrotestosterone. Moreover, these glands are part of the skin neuroendocrine system as they produce and release corticotrophin-releasing hormone (in response to stress). The human sebaceous gland is both glycolytic and glutaminolytic; the sugar glucose is converted to lactate, and glutamine is converted to glutamate, alanine, serine, glycine, threonine, lactate and ammonia. Recently, it has been shown that exogenous glutamine is required for sebocyte division and lipogenesis, though it can be replaced by spermidine. SEE FULL TEXT

Oil Production Stimulated by Hormones

"Oil production is stimulated by hormone production, so anything that causes hormones to fluctuate can cause skin to become more oily," says dermatologist Doris J. Day, MD, associate professor, NYU School of Medicine. WebMD

I was studying transepidermal water loss ("TEWL")--that's when water evaporates through the skin--when I started looking at sebum (the oil your skin produces) which keeps TEWL at a miminum. As I studied how sebum is produced by the sebaceous glands, it brought me into the world of hormones.

You see, I had done just about everything I could think of to get my skin glowing again; and, although I was pretty much free of full body eczema, my skin was still generally dry, thin and dull looking. I was having a hard time figuring out why, because I was getting my nutrients, good fats, fat enzymes and drinking plenty of water. Something that clued me in: my clothes were really damp when I took off my thermal suit every night, so I knew my skin was excreting enough water. I had stopped the use of all lotions trying to get my skin to function as the excretion organ it was meant to be instead of treating it like a sponge, but I wasn't getting the oil to come out of my skin, and that's why my skin wasn't glistening and why it continued to dry out easily.

The following is important news about how the different fats we eat affect our hormones and how hormones affect our skin and eczema. MSM sulfur also helps balance hormones. Ray Peat Ph.D., a physiologist who has worked with progesterone and related hormones since 1968, says that the sudden surge of polyunsaturated oils into the food chain post World War II has caused many changes in hormones. He writes:

Their [polyunsaturated oils] best understood effect is their interference with the function of the thyroid gland. Unsaturated oils block thyroid hormone secretion, its movement in the circulatory system, and the response of tissues to the hormone. When the thyroid hormone is deficient, the body is generally exposed to increased levels of estrogen. The thyroid hormone is essential for making the ‘protective hormones’ progesterone and pregnenolone, so these hormones are lowered when anything interferes with the function of the thyroid. The thyroid hormone is required for using and eliminating cholesterol, so cholesterol is likely to be raised by anything which blocks the thyroid function.Testosterone (an androgen hormone) targets the skin and the sebaceous glands where sebum is produced. It combines with the enzyme 5alpha-reductase to produce dihydrotestosterone, which stimulates the sebaceous glands to produce increased volumes of sebum. Sebum is expelled out into the follicular tube. 1/

On the mechanism of sebaceous secretion: Downing DT, Strauss JS.

Following the studies of Kligman, most investigators now believe that sebaceous glands function continuously in excreting sebum to the skin surface [7, 8]. Populations of differentiating cells are maintained by mitotic activity both in the peripheral cells of the sebaceous lobules and in aggregations of undifferentiated cells which extend through the body of the lobules. Once formed, and as long as maintained by circulating hormones, each lobule continues to produce a stream of differentiating cells which accumulate sebum as they move towards the sebaceous duct and finally disrupt to release their contents into the pilosebaceous canal. After intradermal injections of 3H-thymidine to label germinative cells during DNA replication, up to 28 days elapse before all labeled cells disappear from the glands. When differentiating cells are labeled with 3H-amino acids, much of the label is lost in 7 days. Likewise, when lipids are labeled with 14C-acetate, the average excretion time for the labeled sebum is 8 days. To this time may be added the renewal time of undifferentiated cells to give an average sebaceous cell transition time of 14 days [15]. From knowledge of the time between synthesis and excretion of sebum, sebum production rates were calculated from the sebum content of punch biopsies. The transit time of sebum in the follicular canals was estimated to be 14 h. Production rates determined in this way agree with those measured by long-term absorption of sebum at the skin surface.PMID: 7165343 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

DHEA, ESTROGEN AND TESTOSTERONE
I knew that topical corticosteroids thinned the skin. However, until I started studying DHEA in-depth as it relates to the skin, I didn't realize that DHEA is extremely necessary for healthy skin and for the functioning of the sebaceous glands. Moreover, I was in for a big awakening to learn that not only does the production of DHEA dramatically reduce with age, but DHEA is also significantly reduced by corticosteroids. So what is DHEA? Dehydroepiandrosterone" (pronounced dee-hi-dro-epp-ee-ann-dro-stehr-own) is a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal gland. It is the most abundant hormone secreted by the adrenal glands. DHEA can also be converted into other steroid hormones, including testosterone and estrogen. After DHEA is made, it goes into the bloodstream, and from there it travels all over the body and goes into our cells where it is converted into male hormones (androgens) and female hormones (known as estrogens). By the way, both sexes need and benefit from both male and female hormones, just in different proportions.

The source material for DHEA powder is derived from wild yams, which are grown commercially. Plant sterols (a class of plant hormones) are extracted from the wild yams. The most common sterol is diosgenin, which has a molecular structure very similar to DHEA. In the laboratory, the diosgenin extract is converted to DHEA by clipping away a few side chains by means of chemical reactionsI had already been very curious about taking male hormones, because data shows that sebaceous glands are stimulated by androgens to produce more sebum. See, also, Hormonal Acne, Androgen, and Sebaceous Glands. That's why teens get hormonal acne and why girls' acne can clear up from taking birth control. The male hormone testosterone keeps skin thick and strong, and only a small amount of androgens is needed to stimulate the oil glands to produce an increase in oil flow from the sebaceous glands.

The female hormone estrogen keeps the skin supple by encouraging production of collagen and the NMF hyalauronic acid. Again, DHEA is a pool from which both male and female hormones are produced, and natural production diminishes with age: 50% reduction by age 50 and 90% by age 90. Women who approach menopause have a decreasing level of estrogen and may experience rapidly thinning and drying skin. According to Professor Carmen Fusco of www.LEF.org, women who take both testosterone and estrogen have really thick skin--48% thicker than women who don't take either hormone. That's important information for people who have eczema, because "new" research says that most people with eczema get it from having thin skin. Important: zinc increases the size and production of sebaceous gland (good news for us). See, also, this link on zinc's relationship with DHEA stating that zinc deficiency can cause low DHEA levels. It also supports the synthesis of testosterone and other male hormones.*Interestingly, I had just begun taking Gotu Kola to help build collagen and stimulate the adrenals. An added benefit: Gotu Kola treats anxiety, because it helps regulate the startle response. Funny thing: Gotu Kola in Chinese means: "The Fountain of Youth," and DHEA is deemed "The Fountain of Youth," because it helps ward of many age-related degenerative diseases; and, in animal studies extended rodent lifespan up to 50%--not only did the animals live longer, they looked younger.

Some studies suggest DHEA may be an effective treatment for major depression when used alone or as an adjunct to antidepressants. DHEA may work by increasing serotonin levels in the brain and blocking the effects of certain stress hormones, such as cortisol. Re: infants, see: sebum levels during the first year of life.

A drop in progesterone can cause a concurrent drop in corticosteroid production, leading to a whole other set of symptoms. Progesterone is a major precursor of the important corticosteroid hormones aldosterone and cortisol, made in the adrenal cortex. These corticosteroids are not made via any other hormone pathway. They are responsible for mineral balance, sugar control, and response to stresses of all sorts, including trauma, inflammation, and emotional stress. A lack of corticosteroids can lead to fatigue, immune dysfunction, hypoglycemia, allergies, and arthritis. Not infrequently, progesterone supplementation effectively resolves these problems.

The adrenal cortex is also capable of making progesterone, principally for its precursor role in making corticosteroids, but many women are so stressed out trying to work, raise children, and be wives that by the time they're in their mid to late thirties or early forties their adrenal glands have nothing left to give. My guess is that when Western women stop making progesterone in their ovaries and their adrenal cortex and brain need to pick up 100 percent of that function to produce corticosteroids, there isn't much progesterone left over for other functions, such as balancing estrogen levels. The adrenals of many women in Western cultures are so depleted they can't even make enough progesterone to make the corticosteroids. This may be an important factor in chronic fatigue syndrome, which is so common in women in their mid-thirties and early forties." 1

See,also, how natural progesterone has no side-effects or toxic levels, and here's another great site that talks a lot more about the wonderful use of natural topical progesterone (don't miss it).

Melatonin is another beneficial hormone for skin, acting as a protector and antioxidant for skin tissues.

Pregnenolone is a compound related to DHEA that has recently become the subject of renewed interest. Pregnenolone is made in the body from cholesterol. Pregnenolone is the compound the body uses to make DHEA. Like DHEA, pregnenolone levels drop with age, though not as drastically. Pregnenolone is also the compound from which progesterone is made. Pregnenolone was used frequently in the 1940's as an anti-inflammatory medicine for arthritis before the advent of more powerful anti-inflammatory drugs such as the corticosteroids. Animal studies of pregnenolone indicate a powerful memory-enhancing effect. It is not yet known how powerful this effect is in humans, but many people are trying pregnenolone since it already has a long safety record. A typical pregnenolone dose for life extension purposes is about 20 milligrams per day. During the 1940's, doses were given for arthritis at about 500 mg. per day, with some of the controlled trials lasting up to two years.

An excellent source for more information about pregnenolone is Pregnenolone: A Practical Guide by Ray Sahelian, M.D. (See the Recommended Reading and Resources section.) Learn how pregnenolone (abundantly found in coconut oil) is also wonderful for the skin.

Tests done on the lavender and tea tree oils found that they could act as estrogen, the primary female sex hormone and inhibit androgen, the primary male sex hormone.

Saliva hormone tests are available through your naturopathic doctor.