Photoaging is being studied for clues to aging because it has the same effect as normal aging on certain skin cells. Pregnenolone The body's most basic steroid hormone. Pregnenolone levels seem to decline with age. A lack of pregnenolone would limit the body's production of all other steroid hormones. Proteins - Molecules made up of amino acids arranged in a specific order determined by the genetic code.
Proteins are essential for all life processes.
Certain ones, such as the enzymes that protect against free radicals and the lymphokines produced in the immune system, are being studied extensively by gerontologists. The testes are the glands that make testosterone in men, and the pituitary glands help regulate it. Testosterone is thought of as a male hormone, but it is found in both men and women. Because men have more testosterone, their voices are deeper, they have more facial hair, and their muscles are larger. Testosterone also plays a role in sex drive and erection.