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Pregnenolone Steal Syndrome

Meaning

Pregnenolone Steal Syndrome is a conceptual model in endocrinology that describes a state where the body preferentially shunts the common precursor hormone, pregnenolone, toward the production of stress hormones, primarily cortisol, at the expense of sex hormones and mineralocorticoids. Pregnenolone, often called the “mother hormone,” sits at the top of the steroidogenesis cascade. Under conditions of chronic, intense stress, the excessive demand for cortisol drives the diversion of pregnenolone away from pathways leading to DHEA, testosterone, and progesterone. While the term is a conceptual framework rather than a formal diagnosis, it effectively illustrates the metabolic prioritization of survival (cortisol production) over reproductive and anabolic functions.