Although testosterone is considered a male sex hormone, women produce small amounts of testosterone in their ovaries and adrenal glands. Together with the female sex hormone estrogen, testosterone plays a role in the growth and maintenance of female reproductive tissue and bone mass. These hormones also influence behavior.  In this article, learn about conditions that cause high testosterone in women, as well as about symptoms and treatment.

Normal testosterone levels
Normal testosterone levels in men are around 280 to 1,100 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL).

Women secrete much lower amounts, with normal levels considered to be between 15 and 70 ng/dL.

The level of hormones produced in the body varies each day and throughout the day. Testosterone levels are highest in the morning.

Symptoms of high testosterone in women
Testosterone imbalances in women can affect their physical appearance and overall health.

Symptoms of high testosterone in women include: acne, deep voice, excess hair on the face and body, increased muscle mass, irregular periods, larger-than-normal clitoris, loss of libido, mood changes, reduction in breast size, and thinning hair. Severely high levels of testosterone in women can cause obesity and infertility.

Causes
High testosterone in women is usually caused by an underlying medical condition, such as Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH).  

CAH is the term given to a group of inherited disorders that affect the adrenal glands. These glands secrete the hormones cortisol and aldosterone, which play a role in managing metabolism and blood pressure.  The adrenal glands also produce the male sex hormones DHEA and testosterone. People with CAH lack one of the enzymes necessary to regulate the production of these hormones, so they secrete too little cortisol and too much testosterone.
CAH may be mild (non-classic CAH) or severe (classic CAH).

Symptoms in women include: deep voice, early appearance of pubic hair, enlarged clitoris, excess body hair, facial hair, irregular or absent menstrual periods, severe acne, and short height as an adult but rapid childhood growth.
While there is no cure for CAH, most people with the condition can receive treatment that will reduce symptoms and improve their quality of life.

Hirsutism
Hirsutism is characterized by unwanted hair growth in women . It is a hormonal condition thought to be linked to genetics.
Symptoms include male-pattern hair growth that is dark and coarse. It typically affects the: back, chest, and face.

In cases of excessively high testosterone, other symptoms will also be present, including: acne, balding, deepening voice, enlarged clitoris, increased muscle mass, and reduced breast size. Home remedies and medical treatments help many women control the symptoms of hirsutism.

BOSTON — There has been an exciting breakthrough in the science of aging. In a new study, Boston researchers say they have reversed aging in mice and that discovery could set the stage for similar results in humans.

Dr. David Sinclair has spent his entire career focused on aging and now believes he's discovered a way to stay younger for longer.

"We're absolutely talking about increasing the quality of life - preventing cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's," Sinclair said.

It starts with a molecule called NAD which humans need to live. As we age, the level of NAD in our cells drops, leading to DNA damage and the diseases of aging.

In a new study in the journal CELL, Sinclair and his team at Harvard Medical School's Center for the Biology of Aging boosted NAD levels in the blood vessels of old mice.

"Now those blood vessels are young again. We get more blood vessels, more blood flow and the old mice, even the young mice, can run up to 50 percent, sometimes two times as far on a treadmill without getting tired," Sinclair said.
Sinclair says human trials of the NAD booster are underway in Boston and ultimately, he hopes for Food and Drug Administration approval of a pill everyone could take.

"Just a single pill that they take every morning and it rejuvenates their internal organs and their systems so that you don't just feel young, but you actually are young," Sinclair said.

A related option is available now. A dietary supplement, not regulated by the FDA, called Basis. It was developed by Elysium Health, a company co-founded by Dr. Leonard Guarente, director of the Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"We're talking about being able to stay healthy longer, so being able to do what you like to do," Guarente said.

Basis costs $60 for a one-month supply. Guarente says it contains two natural compounds known to boost NAD levels and in a human trial last year, it worked.

"Over the two months of the trial, NAD levels went up in people who were taking BASIS. They went up higher in the people taking the double dose of BASIS and they stayed elevated for the duration," Guarente said.

Guarente said the company is now eager to work with the FDA to develop human trials for specific diseases.

"If you can make cells healthier and have a treatment, a simple treatment that can make cells healthier, you're going to affect not just those cells, but the entire organ and therefore, the disease," Guarente said.

Though animal research findings may not be the same in humans, the doctors said the results so far are promising, meaning human NAD treatments could be on the horizon.

View the video here.