Cortisol secretion and metabolism in anorexia nervosa.

We studied cortisol secretion and metabolism in 10 women with anorexia nervosa. The 24-hour mean plasma cortisol concentration was 8.9 mug per deciliter (controls, 4.

Studies of the diurnal pattern of plasma corticosteroids and gonadotropins in two cases of feminizing adrenal carcinoma: measurements of estrogen and corticosteroid production.

Two adult men with feminizing adrenal cortical carcinoma had measurements of their 24-h plasma corticosteroid and gonadotropin patterns as well as 24-h mean hormone levels of estradiol, estetrol, 11-desoxycortisol, DHEA-S, DHEA and testosterone. Cortisol, 11-desoxycortisol and estrogen production rates were also measured. The 24-h corticosteroid patterns showed preservation of the normal 24-h episodic and circadian patterns, albeit at higher levels.

Human puberty: 24-hour estradiol in pubertal girls.

Plasma luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and estradiol were measured at 20-minute intervals for 24-hours in seven pubertal premenarchal girls whose sleep was monitored polygraphically. A circadian variation in plasma estradiol was demonstrated with the highest values occurring during the day (1400-1600 hours) and lowest values during sleep, a time when gonadotropin secretion was augmented.

Clinical and laboratory heterogeneity in idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.

Six young men with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism had 24-h frequent blood sampling studies for measurement of LH, FSH and testosterone. Five of the patients had LH and FSH measured after administration of 100 mug LH-RH during waking and then during sleep. Four of the patients had testicular biopsies performed.

Hypothyroid-like alterations in testosterone metabolism in anorexia nervosa.

The metabolism of 14C-testosterone was studied in 8 severely underweight young women with anorexia nervosa. The urinary androsterone/etiocholanolone (A/E) ratio was uniformly low, in a range characteristic of hypothyroidism; the patients also showed low plasma concentrations of triiodothyronine (T3). Clinical remission as manifested by weight gain was accompanied by concomitant increases of the A/E ratio and the plasma T3 concentration to or toward normal.

Endocrine studies in a phenotypic girl with XY gonadal agenesis.

An 18-year-old phenotypic girl with XY gonadal agenesis had endocrine studies. The patient had a small amount of sexual hair, a slightly enlarged clitoris, normal labia and no posterior fusion. Her vagina was of normal length, but no cervix was palpable.

Effect of 7beta, 17alpha-dimethyltestosterone (calusterone) on cortisol metabolism in women with advanced breast cancer.

It was demonstrated that oral administration of 7beta, 17alpha-dimethyltestosterone (Calusterone) reversibly alters cortisol production and metabolism in women with advanced breast cancer. There was a 30% decrease in cortisol production rate, a 50% decrease in transformation to tetrahydrocortisone (THE) glucuronide, a 50% prolongation of plasma cortisol half-life and decreased conversion to C-19 metabolites. The plasma cortisol concentrations (means and 24-hour profiles) remained unchanged by Calusterone despite the reduction in adrenocortical function.

The relationship of luteinizing hormone secretion to sleep in women during the early follicular phase: effects of sleep reversal and a prolonged three-hour sleep-wake schedule.

The relationship of luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion to sleep in adult women was investigated in two ways: an acute 180 degrees sleep-wake cycle reversal in a group of six women and a schedule in which a young woman engaged in a three hour sleep-wake cycle (two hours awake, one hour allowed for sleep continuously for ten days--the study was carried out on the eighth day). Each subject in the reversal study had a baseline period during which plasma samples were collected every twenty minutes for twenty-four hours and nocturnal sleep was monitored electrophysiologically during the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. During a succeeding cycle, the study was repeated after sleep-wake reversal.

Radioimmunoassay of androsterone and androsterone-3-sulfate in plasma.

Details of a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay for androsterone (1) and androsterone sulfate in plasma have been presented. Benzene extracts of plasma were chromatographed on alumina to isolate the androsterone fraction either (a) directly after extraction (A) or (b) after solvolysis (AS). Following treatment with rabbit anti-A-17-BSA, antibody bound steriod was precipitated by ammonium sulfate.

The effect of medroxyprogesterone acetate on the pituitary-adrenal axis.

Twelve cancer patients and one patient with diabetes mellitus were treated with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) by intramuscular injection in a total weekly dose of 400, 700, or 1200 mg. The treatment reduced the plasma cortisol concentration by 76% in the AM hours (21 leads to 5.0 mug/dl) and by 75% in the PM hours (12.

The influence of age and sex on the metabolism of testosterone.

The influence of age and sex on the peripheral metabolism of testosterone was studied by giving intravenous tracers of 14C-testosterone to 21 prepubertal children (13 boys and 8 girls), 39 young adults 18-43 years old (23 men and 16 women), and 10 elderly adults 68-86 years old (6 men and 4 women). Studies were also carried out in 2 sexually immature young adults, one 18-year-old 45 XO phenotypic female with gonadal agenesis and one 18-year-old 45 XO, 46 XX mosaic female with gonadal dysgenesis; the latter was restudied after prolonged estrogen-progestagen therapy. Age and sex influences were observed only with respect to the androsterone/etiocholanolone (A/E) ratio; a sex difference in diol metabolite formation was not observed.

Androsterone sulfate concentrations in plasma in hypo- and hyperthyroidism.

Androsterone sulfate concentrations have been measured in the plasma of 16 hypothyroid women and 14 hyperthyroid women by a gas-liquid chromatographic technique and in 23 hypothyroid and 18 hyperthyroid women by radioimmunoassay. In obth studies androsterone sulfate concentrations were significantly higher in the hyperthyroid groups. In one hypothyroid subject, blood was obtained at 20-minute intervals over 24 hours before and after the administration of triiodothyronine; plasma androsterone sulfate, initially 25 mug per dl, increased three-fold as a consequence of treatment.

7beta,17alpha-Dimethyltestosterone (calusterone)-induced changes in the metabolism, production rate, and excretion of estrogens in women with breast cancer: a possible mechanism of action.

The metabolism of estradiol, its production rate and the urinary excretion rate of its metabolites were studied in 5 women patients with breast cancer, 2 of whom were postmenopausal and 3 were ovariectomized, both before and after a period of 7beta,17alpha-dimethyltestosterone (calusterone) therapy. In all cases calusterone caused a profound decrease in the transformation to estriol and an increase in the formation of estrone and 2-hydroxyestrone. The production rate of estrogens was diminished by calusterone in the three overiectomized patients but not in the postmenopausal subjects.

Changes in estradiol and cortisol production rates in men under the influence of narcotics.

The production rates of estradiol and cortisol in two male opiate addicts while on narcotic maintenance, were in the low normal or subnormal range. There was a sharp several-fold increase upon withdrawal with a subsequent fall to normal values after a period of abstinence. The changes in estradiol production rates were proportionally greater than those of cortisol and suggest that they were due to changes in testicular secretion of the precursor testosterone.

Influence of body weight on estradiol metabolism in young women.

The metabolism of estradiol in girls with anorexia nervosa was compared with obese subjects and normal weight, age and sex matched controls. Increasing body weight was accompanied by a sharp decrease in 2-hydroxylation of estradiol and an increase in 16alpha-hydroxylation. These metabolic changes are discussed in terms of the biological activity of 2-hydroxyestrone and estriol.

Hormone profiles in hormone-dependent cancers.

Studies on the relationship of urinary excretion of androgen metabolites and estrogens to the natural history of breast cancer are reviewed. The importance of distinguishing between "within-population" studies (i.e.

Twenty-four hour prolactin (PRL) secretory patterns during pregnancy.

To determine if the central nervous system "program" controlling PRL secretion is operative during pregnancy, three pregnant women (12th, 20th and 32nd week of gestation) had 24-hour, 20-minute interval plasma sampling and polygraphic monitoring of nocturnal sleep. All three subjects showed episodic PRL secretion during waking which became augmented during nocturnal sleep. Since the number of "major" PRL secretory episodes was similar to normals, the increased PRL levels were most probably achieved by increased secretion per secretory episode.

Direct analysis of dehydroisoandrosterone in plasma.

DHA (1) has been measured in plasma by a radioimmunoassay procedure using an antiserum to DHA-7-BSA whose specificity is such that the procedure is carried out directly on diluted, unextracted plasma. The method has been used to obtain plasma DHA secretory patterns and mean concentrations and the data are in accord with those determined by related but more laborious techniques.

24-Hour secretory pattern of dehydroisoandrosterone and dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate.

Dehydroisoandrosterone (DHA) and cortisol were measured by radioimmunoassay and protein binding techniques respectively in plasma from blood taken at 20-min intervals over 24-h periods in 3 normal men, 2 women with Stein-Leventhal syndrome and a man with a benign adrenocortical adenoma. In all subjects but the latter, DHA and cortisol were episodic and synchronous throughout the entire day; in this patient, continuous secretion of cortisol by the tumor apparently abolished stimulation of the contralateral adrenal, and DHA production was negligible. Dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate analysis in plasma displayed a pattern which, probably because of its origin both by secretion and sulfation and its long half-life showed less synchronicity with DHA and cortisol and less fluctuation than did the free hormones.