What Are Catecholamines?
These hormones are released in response to physical or emotional stress.
Catecholamines are hormones produced by the adrenal glands, which sit on top of the kidneys.
多巴胺,,,,epinephrine (adrenaline), 和norepinephrineare the main catecholamines.
Each of these hormones gets broken down into other substances that are eliminated in your urine.
Catecholamines are released into the bloodstream when you're physically or emotionally stressed.
High Catecholamine Levels
High levels of catecholamines may indicate a wide variety of health conditions, including:
- Acute anxiety
- Severe stress
- Certain tumors, both cancerous and noncancerous
- Baroreflex failure (a rare disorder involving blood pressure changes)
- Certain enzyme缺陷
- Menkes syndrome (a disorder that affects copper levels in the body)
- Disorders of dopamine metabolism
Normal Catecholamine Levels
The main catecholamines are broken down in the following ways before being eliminated in your urine:
- Dopamine becomes homovanillic acid
- Epinephrinebecomes metanephrine and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA)
- Norepinephrine becomes normetanephrine and VMA
A urine test is often given to measure the amounts of the above substances released from the body over a 24-hour period.
Below are the ranges usually considered normal for a 24-hour period. These ranges may be slightly different depending on the laboratory that performs the test:
- Dopamine: 65 to 400 micrograms (mcg)
- Epinephrine: 0.5 to 20 mcg
- Metanephrine: 24 to 96 mcg (but some laboratories give the range as 140 to 785 mcg)
- Norepinephrine: 15 to 80 mcg
- Normetanephrine: 75 to 375 mcg
- Total urine catecholamines: 14 to 110 mcg
- VMA: 2 to 7 milligrams (mg)
Your doctor will explain what your test results mean.
Testing Catecholamine Levels
If your catecholamine levels need to be tested, then your doctor will most likely recommend a urine test.一种验血can also be done.
Eating or drinking certain foods or beverages can increase catecholamine levels.这些项目包括:
- Tea, coffee, and other caffeinated drinks
- 香蕉
- Citrus fruits
- Chocolate or cocoa
- 香草
Taking certain medications can also affect your catecholamine levels, so if your levels are tested, tell your doctor about all drugs you're taking.
The following drugs can affect your catecholamine levels:
- 对乙酰氨基酚
- Albuterol
- Amphetamines
- buspirone
- 钙通道阻滞剂
- Clonidine
- 可卡因
- 环苯二卫
- Guanethidine
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
- Phenoxybenzamine
- Phenothiazines
- Pseudoephedrine
- Reserpine
- 三环抗抑郁药
Stress and intense exercise may also affect your test results.
编辑资料和事实检查
- Catecholamine blood test;Medlineplus。
- Catecholamine Disorders;国家动物障碍研究基金会。
- Catecholamines - urine;马里兰大学医学中心。