Hormones are nothing but powerful chemicals that act as your body’s messengers. They control many of your body’s processes like metabolism and reproduction. Hormones are produced in the endocrine glands, after which they travel to your organs and tissues with the right messages. Sometimes, your body may produce the wrong amount of hormones and the effects may start showing in your body, for instance, symptoms of thyroid problems, such as fatigue and constipation. They can be either too much or too little, which can affect how your body functions. This condition is called hormonal imbalance, and it is quite common in America. Until the last decade, the hormonal imbalance was a mysterious condition that had few treatments. But, thanks to modern technology, the scenario is changing. New technology is helping over hormonal issues unlike ever before. Here are some ways technology is transforming hormonal issues.
To Measure Hormones That Influence Reproductivity
Reproductive health problems are common in humans. A third of women suffer from reproductive health problems that affect their reproductivity, causing infertility or premature menopause. Until recently, diagnosing such conditions was a demanding and lengthy process. It required doctors to take blood samples every ten minutes for over eight hours. They, then, send them to the lab to measure the luteinizing hormone (LH) amount in the blood. It wasn’t easy to test the LH levels using this method, and the tests often came with exorbitant bills.
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong and Imperial College London have developed a new technology that can be used to measure the LH levels in a much easier and cheaper way. Their tech, Robotic APTamer-enabled Electrochemical Reader (RAPTER), uses novel biosensors linked to a robotic system to measure the LH levels in the blood in real-time without requiring lab testing.
RAPTER has the potential to test patients quickly and cheaply. Researchers believe it can lead the way for personalized hormonal imbalance medications that are more effective based on each patient’s profile.
To Enhance Premature Ovarian Failure (POF) Treatment
POF is a condition where ovaries fail to function before the age of 40. Here, the ovaries fail to produce adequate estrogen or release eggs regularly, often leading to infertility. The primary cause of this condition is increased levels of serum gonadotrophins and hypoestrogenism.
Currently, patients with POF are being helped with non-physiological sex steroid treatment programs, which are somewhat insufficient at optimizing uterine characteries. That is, they often fail to show tangible results.
A study conducted by Shenzhen Beike Bio-Technology has shown that there may be a better way to manage POF. As per the study, a stem cell therapy where the human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) and the human cord blood mononuclear cells (hCBMNCs) transplantation can be combined with hormone replacement therapy to manage POF. The study shows that the umbilical cord cells can modulate the patient’s immune response, promising a plausible treatment for POF.
To Track Hormones
Last year, a tech startup, Inne, earned an $8.8 million Series A funding backed by Blossom Capital, Monkfish Equity, and several other angel investors. Why? Inne has developed a promising tech produced that can track hormones in its user’s body. Inne’s hormone tracking is a non-invasive method that tracks the body’s natural rhythms without altering the hormone levels. The user has to plug their saliva sample into the device for a complete analysis, and the entire process takes less than ten minutes.
The startup’s goal is to reconnect their uses, specifically women, with their own body’s hormones early on in their life. This tuning-in will help them understand more about their bodies and how they can start dealing with hormonal imbalances before it’s too late.
The technological advances may not look that exciting yet, but this is just the beginning. The way tech is advancing in this field, soon enough, hormonal imbalances may not be such fearful conditions but only annoyances that can be dealt with easily.
