adrenarche
Sign in to saveAdrenarche is an early stage in sexual maturation that happens in some higher primates (including humans), typically peaks at around 20 years of age, and is involved in the development of pubic hair, body odor, skin oiliness, axillary hair, sexual attraction/sexual desire/increased libido and mild acne. During adrenarche the adrenal glands secrete increased levels of weak adrenal androgens, including dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and androstenedione (A4), but without increased cortisol levels. Adrenarche is the result of the development of a new zone o
Research
891 papers- Normal and Premature Adrenarche.Endocrine reviews · 2021
- Update on adrenarche.Current opinion in pediatrics · 2020
- Premature Adrenarche.Pediatric annals · 2018
- Update on Adrenarche-Still a Mystery.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2024
- Adrenarche.Endocrinology and metabolism clinics of North America · 1991
via PubMed
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- Occurrence
- Role in puberty
- Premature adrenarche
- Other primates
- See also
- References
- External links
Adrenarche is an early stage in sexual maturation that happens in some higher primates (including humans), typically peaks at around 20 years of age, and is involved in the development of pubic hair, body odor, skin oiliness, axillary hair, sexual attraction/sexual desire/increased libido and mild acne. During adrenarche the adrenal glands secrete increased levels of weak adrenal androgens, including dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and androstenedione (A4), but without increased cortisol levels. Adrenarche is the result of the development of a new zone of the adrenal cortex, the zona reticularis. Adrenarche is a process related to puberty, but distinct from hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (HPG axis) maturation and function.
==Occurrence== thumb|right|450px|class=skin-invert-image|Levels of DHEA-S, a major adrenal androgen, throughout life in humans
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “adrenarche” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.