[Plasma androgens in women with disseminated lupus erythematosus]

Plasma androgen levels were determined by radio-immunoassay in 19 female patients (aged 14 to 42 years) with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In 11 patients studied in the active phase of the disease, prior to any corticosteroid therapy, mean (+/- SEM) plasma concentrations (ng/ml) of the following androgens were significantly reduced as compared with controls (12 normal women aged 19-37 years): testosterone (0.119 +/- 0.021 vs 0.330 +/- 0.034, p less than 0.001), dihydrotestosterone (0.078 +/- 0.013 vs 0.150 +/- 0.014, p less than 0.01), dehydroepiandrosterone (1.60 +/- 0.16 vs 4.30 +/- 0.50, p less than 0.001), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (480 +/- 102 vs 1020 +/- 92, p less than 0.001), and androstenedione (0.69 +/- 0.22 vs 1.45 +/- 0.18, p less than 0.02). In 8 patients studied while in post-therapeutic remission, six months to seven years after corticosteroid withdrawal, plasma concentrations of the same androgens (except androstenedione) were also significantly reduced as compared with controls, although to a lesser degree. In neither of the two patient groups were cortisol and estradiol levels significantly different from controls. Our results suggest that low plasma androgen levels could be a permanent disorder in female SLE patients, at least in severe forms of the disease.