Hypersecretion of estrogen in Takayasu's disease

Abstract

The 24 hour urinary excretion of total estrogens was measured by the methods of Cohen, 17 Brown, 18 and Nishi 19 in 20 healthy women aged 18 to 45 (mean 31.8 ± 6.8) and in 20 patients with typical Takayasu's disease aged 18 to 45 (mean 32.2 ± 7.8) during the follicular and luteal periods, respectively. A continuous high level of urinary excretion of total estrogens without normal biphasic rhythm was found in those with Takayasu's disease. The 24 hour urinary excretion of total estrogens during the follicular period was 7.4 ± 0.8 μg per day in the control subjects and 13.7 ± 1.4 μg per day in the patients; the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.01). During the luteal period the excretion was 10.7 ± 0.9 μg per day in the control subjects and 12.7 ± 1.2 μg per day in the patients. The continuous high level of urinary excretion of total estrogens found in this study has been discussed as one possible explanation of the characteristic localization of this morbid condition in the arterial system.