DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE AND ANDROSTERONE LEVELS IN HUMAN PLASMA. EFFECT OF AGE AND SEX; DAY-TO-DAY AND DIURNAL VARIATIONS*

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Abstract
METHODS have been described for the measurement of total 17-ketosteroids (17-KS) occurring in human plasma (1) and for their fractionation (2). Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA) and androsterone have been isolated and found to be the principal 17-KS in the peripheral circulation of normal man (3, 4). The present study was carried out in order to obtain further information on the levels of DHA and androsterone in normal subjects and to ascertain the effect of age and sex on the concentrations of these steroids. It was also thought to be of interest to determine the diurnal variation as well as the day-to-day changes of the 17-KS levels in the same subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS A 40-ml. sample of blood was drawn from each experimental subject between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m., except in the study of diurnal variations, when blood was obtained at various times of the day. The blood samples were heparinized. They were centrifuged within forty-five minutes following collection and the plasma was immediately separated from the red cells. When the determination was not carried out immediately, the plasma was kept in a freezer.