One molecule, many messages
Every steroid hormone starts as cholesterol. Tap a hormone to trace its route, or open the control loop to see how stress applies the brakes.
The pathway
The control loop
Precursors
Progestogen
Adrenal steroids
Androgens
Estrogens
Stress axis and reproductive axis: chronic load slows GnRH pulses
Chronic load: stress, under-fuelling, short sleep
Low
High
Cortisol output
Sex hormones
Simplified. Adrenal glands and ovaries or testes are separate production sites; cortisol doesn’t use up the gonads’ raw material. The brake sits in the brain.