This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Silfen, M. E. Articles by Oberfield, S. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Silfen, M. E. Articles by Oberfield, S. E.

5-Reductase and 11ß-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Activity in Prepubertal Hispanic Girls with Premature Adrenarche

Division of Pediatric Endocrinology (M.E.S., A.M.M., L.S.L., D.S., S.E.O), Columbia University, New York, New York 10032; Children’s Hospital (C.H.L.S.), Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California 94609; and Information Sciences Division, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (D.J.M.), Orangeburg, New York 10962

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Sharon E. Oberfield, M.D., 630 West 168th Street, PH-5E-522, New York, New York 10032. E-mail: seo8{at}columbia.edu.

Abstract

Girls with idiopathic premature adrenarche, characterized by the early appearance of pubic hair and adrenal hyperandrogenism, may be at an increased risk for polycystic ovarian syndrome and its associated complications. Alterations of peripheral metabolism of adrenal steroids, specifically increased 5-reductase and 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities, have been documented in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome and proposed as an underlying mechanism for the adrenal hyperandrogenism in this syndrome. We sought to investigate whether alterations in 5-reductase and 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities are present in girls with premature adrenarche, suggesting a possible role in the pathogenesis of the hyperandrogenism of this condition. We studied C19 and C21 urinary steroid metabolites, 5/5ß and 11 oxo/11 hydroxy metabolite pairs as well as the ratios of the total 5/total 5ß and total 11 oxo/total 11 hydroxy metabolites in 24-h urine samples from 17 prepubertal Hispanic girls with premature adrenarche and seven controls. We found no differences in the 5-reductase or 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities in the prepubertal girls with premature adrenarche, compared with the controls. When age and body mass index Z-score were controlled for in the statistical analysis, the results did not change. Total cortisol metabolites were not different in the girls with premature adrenarche, compared with the controls. In conclusion, we did not demonstrate a difference in the peripheral steroid metabolism, specifically 5-reductase and 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities, in prepubertal Hispanic girls with premature adrenarche, compared with controls. Therefore, in this group of young girls, alterations in 5-reductase or 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities do not appear to contribute to their early pubic hair development.