The effect of constant infusion of unlabeled dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate on maternal plasma androgens and estrogens.

Abstract

A bolus iv injection of 50 mg dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DS) followed by a constant 2-h infusion of 200 eg DS/min was administered to 5 pregnant patients at term and to 5 postpartum patients. Its effect on plasma androgen and estrogen concentrations wasdetermined by frequent plasma hormone determinations. At the end of the constant infusion plasma DS concentrations were 7-fold higher than pre-treatment levels in both postpartum and pregnant patients. The metabolic clearance rates (MCR) of the infused DS for pregnant and postpartum patients were 1.2 and 1.0 liter/kg/day, and the half-lives 146 and 179 min, respectively (P > 0.05). A 3-fold rise of plasma dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations, which was observed in pregnant as well as postpartum patients, suggested that the rise of plasma dehydroepiandrosterone was due to peripheral rather than placental metabolism of DS. The rise of plasma androstenedione and testosterone following DS infusion, which was greater in postpartum than in pregnant patients...