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Pregnenolone

Pregnenolone is a naturally occurring steroid and is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of progesterone and corticosteroids. Historically, pregnenolone has been known as the precursor to the DHEA hormone. It was thought for many decades to have played no additional biological role. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a weak androgen, serves as the primary precursor in the biosynthesis of both androgens and estrogens. DHEA has been reported to play a mitigating role in obesity, diabetes, carcinogenesis, autoinmmunity, neurological loss of memory, and the negative effects of GCS on IL-2 production by murine T cells. However, recent research has found that pregnenolone has many independent and significant biological capacities and is considered a neural hormone with biological functions throughout the entire body, including the spinal cord and the brain. Pregnenolone is produced in the human adrenal gland and in the human brain. Pregnenolone is produced in the desired amounts only if a person's body has adequate amounts of cholesterol, vitamin A, thyroid hormone, and enzymes. If these levels are insufficient, a low supply of pregnenolone will result. Pregnenolone levels are similar in both males and females.

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