M. J. SCANLON 1 , C. B. WHORWOOD, * 1 , S. FRANKS 1 , M. J. REED 1 V. H. T. JAMES 1
1 Department of Chemical Pathology, St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London W2 IPG, UK *Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London W2 IPG, UK
Correspondence: Dr M. J. Reed, Department of Chemical Pathology, St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London W2 IPG, UK.
Copyright 1988 Blackwell Scientific Publications Ltd.
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ABSTRACT
There is currently much interest in measurements of 5α-androstane-3α, 17β-diol glucuronide (AdiolG) as a marker of peripheral androgen metabolism. We have therefore developed an assay to measure serum AdiolG levels and report that mean concentrations in hirsute (2.9± 1.9 nmol/1, mean ± SD, n= 15) and non-hirsute (1.9 ± 0.6 nmol/1, n= 7) women with polycystic ovaries do not differ significantly from concentrations in normal women (2.2 ± 0.8 nmol/1, n= 20). However, a correlation was found between serum AdiolG levels and Body Mass Index (r = 0.48, P & 0.05) for women with polycystic ovaries, suggesting that weight may be an important factor in determining concentrations of this steroid conjugate. Serum AdiolG levels were significantly reduced in hypothyroid women (0.6 ± 0.4 nmol/1, n= 5) and women receiving oral contraceptive therapy (0.6 ± 0.4 nmol/1, n= 28) but increased in hyperthyroid women (4.0 ± 0.6 nmol/1, n= 5). The results from this study do not support the hypothesis that serum AdiolG levels provide a marker of peripheral androgen metabolism in hirsute women and show that it is essential to exclude from such investigations any women with thyroid abnormalities or receiving oral contraceptive therapy.