Decreased Conversion of Androgens to Normal 17-Ketosteroid Metabolites: A Nonspecific Consequence of Illness

In order to study the nonspecific influence of illness on the peripheral metabolism of androgens, trace amounts of 14C-testosterone were administered intravenously to 16 healthy control subjects (4 men and 4 women aged 23–35, and 5 men and 3 women aged 68–86) and to 47 patients (26 men and 21 women, aged 16–84) with a wide variety of types and severity of illness, and trace amounts of 14C-dehydroisoandrosterone were administered to 13 healthy controls (3 men and 4 women aged 21–32, and 3 men and 3 women aged 67–85) and to 15 patients (9 men and 6 women, aged 19–82) with various illnesses. It was found that both precursor hormones were converted to abnormally low proportions of androsterone and etiocholanolone in a large number of the patients, regardless of diagnosis. Mean recovery of etiocholanolone plus androsterone from 14C-testosterone in control subjects was 48% of the dose, with a coefficient of variation of 9%. Recovery in the ill patients was very variable, ranging from high normal to les...