Dehydroepiandrosterone: Kinetics of Metabolism in Normal Men and Women

The single injection and constant infusion techniques were utilized to study the kinetics of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) metabolism and its peripheral conversion to several other C19-steroids including Cis-steroid sulfates. The MCRs (mean ± SEM) for normal men and normal women were 1866 ± 144 and 1901 ± 87 liters/24 h, respectively. The single injection technique yielded values for rate constants (units) and volumes of distribution (1) as follows: K1, 42.6 ± 7.7 for men and 37.1 ± 5.0 for women; K2, 64.3 ±11.2 for men and 55.5 ± 5.0 for women; K2, 64.3 ± 11.2 for men and 55.5 ± 5.0 for women; V1; 38.5 ± 6.0 for men and 33.7 ± 2.5 for women; V2, 30.4 ± 7.3 for men and 27.5 ± 9.9 for women. The constant infusion technique yielded values for the conversion ratios for the transformation of DHEA to several products: Δ5-androstene-3β,17β-diol to DHEA of 0.10 ± 0.01 for men and 0.16 ± 0.03 for women, Δ4-androstenedione to DHEA of 0.04 ± 0.01 for men and 0.07 ± 0.02 for women, DHEA sulfate (DHEAS) to DHEA of 6....