[Study of plasma androstenedione and testosterone levels in hypercorticism syndromes]

Plasma T and A were studied in 10 patients with hypercorticism. In the female patients, plasma A and T were elevated in 4 cases of Cushing's disease, slightly decreased in 2 cases of adrenal adenoma and greatly increased in I case of adrenal carcinoma. In 3 male patients, A plasma levels followed ACTH levels, but T was subnormal, irrespective of the cause of hypercorticism. Furthermore, in 8 normal men, the decrease of plasma T, observed after ACTH administration, was not directly related to ACTH, but rather to cortisol, as it was not observed after metyrapone induced ACTH increase. As no change in LH secretion was shown and as dexamethasone reduced the testosterone response to HCG, it seems likely that glucocorticoids act directly on testosterone biosynthesis.