[Dehydroepiandrosterone and adrenarche]

The first report on increased production of 17-ketosteroids in healthy children before puberty was published by N. Talbot et al. in 1943. F. Albrigth et al. introduced the concept of "adrenarch", which everyone has used for the past 50 years. Later, with the advent of more advanced methods, it was shown that increased excretion of 17-ketosteroids during this development period is due to increased secretion of the adrenal cortex of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS). It must be emphasized that the content of other adrenal androgens - androstenedione and lip-hydroxyandrostenedione - does not increase during the adrenarche period. An increase in their secretion is recorded at the age of 6-8 years, that is, it is somewhat behind the activation of DHEA secretion. It must be remembered that androstenedione is also a product of DHEA metabolism in peripheral tissues. In contrast, lip-hydroxyandrostenedione can form only in the cortical layer of the adrenal gland, which is due to the presence of the corresponding enzyme system, which is localized in the adrenal tissue.