Serum androstanediol glucuronide concentrations in normal and hirsute women and patients with thyroid dysfunction

There is currently much interest in measurements of 5 alpha-androstane-3 alpha, 17 beta-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/l, mean +/- SD, n = 15) and non-hirsute (1.9 +/- 0.6 nmol/l, n = 7) women with polycystic ovaries do not differ significantly from concentrations in normal women (2.2 +/- 0.8 nmol/l, n = 20). However, a correlation was found between serum AdiolG levels and Body Mass Index (r = 0.48, P less than 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/l, n = 5) and women receiving oral contraceptive therapy (0.6 +/- 0.4 nmol/l, n = 28) but increased in hyperthyroid women (4.0 +/- 0.6 nmol/l, 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.