Idiopathic Hirsutism — An Ovarian Abnormality

Abstract

We investigated increased production of testosterone and androstenedione in 44 women with unexplained adult-onset hirsutism, 41 of whom had Normal-Sized ovaries. Twenty women in this group had at least 50 per cent suppression of plasma testosterone and androstenedione after four to five days of dexamethasone. Testosterone and androstenedione values in ovarian-vein effluents were higher than those of their adrenal veins. We calculated adrenal secretion rates of both androgens in each patient by relating the adrenal gradients to those of cortisol.