Amniotic fluid steroid levels. Fetuses with adrenal hyperplasia, 46,XXY fetuses, and normal fetuses
D. J. Carson, A. Okuno, P. A. Lee, G. Stetten, S. M. Didolkar and C. J. Migeon
Concentrations of testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone
(DHA), DHA sulfate (DHAS), progesterone, 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone
(17-OHP), and hydrocortisone were determined in amniotic fluid obtained at
amniocentesis or at elective cesarean section. Male fetuses had
significantly higher concentrations of testosterone and androstenedione
than female fetuses had between 15 and 21 weeks of gestation but not near
term (36 to 40 weeks). In both sexes, progesterone and 17-OHP
concentrations fell and DHA, DHAS, and hydrocortisone concentrations
increased significantly with advancing gestational age. Amniotic fluid
17-OHP, testosterone, DHA, and androstenedione levels from female fetuses
with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) were more elevated in the second
trimester than in the third. Three female fetuses at risk for CAH, but not
affected, had normal steroid concentrations. Steroid concentrations from
two fetuses with Klinefelter's syndrome were not abnormal.
