Prague Med. Rep. 2016, 117, 98-107
The Response of C19 Δ5-steroids to ACTH Stimulation and Hypoglycemia in Insulin Tolerance Test for Adrenal Insufficiency
Studies on the time course of ACTH- or insulin-induced hypoglycemia stimulating adrenal androgens are usually limited to dehydroepiandrosterone and/or its sulphate. Our data on dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its hydroxylated metabolites clearly show that measurements of DHEA and its sulphate (DHEAS) are valuable markers of the integrity of the HPA (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal) axis. Assessments of HPA function should rely on measurements of baseline and/or stimulated serum cortisol concentrations, and C19 Δ5-steroids may provide additional information. The art of stimulation of 7- and 16-hydroxylated metabolites of DHEA can help our understanding of the formation sequence of these compounds.
Keywords
Dehydroepiandrosterone, ACTH test, Insulin tolerance test, Adrenal insufficiency, 7-hydroxy-DHEA, 16-hydroxy-DHEA.
Funding
This study was supported by grant no. NT 11277-6 IGA of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic.
References
Copyright
Published by the Karolinum Press. For permission to use please write to medical.report@lf1.cuni.cz.
