STUDIES ON THE METABOLISM OF TESTOSTERONE IN NORMAL WOMEN IN DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE*

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Abstract
THAT the size and function of the adrenal cortex can be influenced by ovarian activity has been demonstrated in rats (1–4). It is not known whether adrenal cortical activity in man similarly varies with ovarian activity in any consistent manner. Although the urinary 17-ketosteroids reflect at least certain aspects of adrenal function, certainly no regular alterations in the rate of their excretion have been noted in normal women during different phases of the menstrual cycle (5–9). However, Koets (10) has made the interesting observation that in women suffering from simple hirsutism there does exist a cyclic variation in the 17-ketosteroid excretion correlated with the menstrual cycle. Why the output of 17-ketosteroids should vary in this manner in these women and not in normal women requires explanation. As an approach to an understanding of the relation between ovarian and adrenal cortical function it seemed important to investigate the manner in which a precursor of the 17-ketosteroids is metabolized during different phases of the normal menstrual cycle. Consequently, this report deals with the extent to which normal women, in an acute study, convert a precursor hormone, testosterone, to 17-ketosteroids.