Low DHT?

[TorontoTRT]

Got my DHT finally tested and it doesn't seem to correlate with the other hormone values. I mean it's normal range high, but the other results are way higher. What could be causing this? I hear dht should be 10% of total testosterone.

Trough numbers:
TT - 926
FT - 23.2
E2 - 72.5
DHEA - 247
DHT - 64 range 16 - 79 ng/dl

 

[TLR]

Back when I was running higher doses my trough level was around yours and my DHT never got out of the 50s. I'm purely speculating here, but things aren't always linear and the bloodwork is a snapshot of what is in your blood at that time. It could vary and it just wasnt at a particular level when the blood was drawn. I also feel like once we start messing with mother nature and pushing levels up that the "rules" don't always apply.

 

[Cataceous]

There is a saturation effect in these enzyme-driven conversions. This means that as we push testosterone higher the incremental increases in DHT get smaller and smaller.

 

[Vince]

Here's my levels.

Testosterone serum 880 ng/dL range 264 - 916
Free T 32.3 pg/mL range 6.6 - 18.1
DHEA - Sulfate 384.4 range 48.9 - 344.2
Estradiol, Sensitive 28.5 range 8.0 - 35.0
SHBG 39.7 range 19.3 - 76.4
HCT 48.0 range 37.5 - 51.0
DHT 54.0 range 30 - 85

 

[madman]

Testosterone Metabolism
After testicular secretion, a small proportion of testosterone undergoes activation to two bioactive metabolites, estradiol and DHT, whereas the bulk of secreted testosterone undergoes inactivation by hepatic phase I and II metabolism to inactive oxidized and conjugated metabolites for urinary and/or biliary excretion (108).

The amplification pathway converts ~4% of circulating testosterone to the more potent, pure androgen, DHT (50, 52). DHT has higher binding affinity to (109) and 3-10 time greater molar potency in transactivation (110-112) of the androgen receptor relative to testosterone. Testosterone is converted to the most potent natural androgen DHT by the 5a-reductase enzyme that originates from two distinct genes (I and II) (113). Type 1 5a-reductase is expressed in the liver, kidney, skin, and brain, whereas type 2 5a-reductase is characteristically expressed strongly in the prostate but also at lower levels in the skin (hair follicles) and liver (113).


As the type 2 5a-reductase enzyme results in over 95% of testosterone entering the prostate being converted to the more potent androgen DHT (121), blockade of that isoenzyme (the expression of which is largely restricted to the prostate) confines the inhibition of testosterone action to the prostate (and other urogenital sinus tissue derivatives) without blocking extra-prostatic androgen action. DHT circulates at ~10% of blood testosterone concentrations, due to spillover from the prostate (122-123) and nonprostatic sources (124).





Keypoints:

*The amplification pathway converts ~4% of circulating testosterone to the more potent, pure androgen, DHT

*DHT circulates at ~10% of blood testosterone concentrations, due to spillover from the prostate (122-123) and nonprostatic sources (124).

*Testosterone is converted to the most potent natural androgen DHT by the 5a-reductase enzyme that originates from two distinct genes (I and II) (113). Type 1 5a-reductase is expressed in the liver, kidney, skin, and brain, whereas type 2 5a-reductase is characteristically expressed strongly in the prostate but also at lower levels in the skin (hair follicles) and liver (113).








I would also say that the concentration of type II 5a-reductase enzyme can also play a role as to why ones levels may be lower than 10%.