The identification and simultaneous quantification of 7-hydroxylated metabolites of pregnenolone, dehydroepiandrosterone, 3β,17β-androstenediol, and testosterone in human serum using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Abstract 7-Hydroxy-metabolites of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and 3β,17β-androstenediol (AD) possess immunomodulatory and neuroprotective properties; therefore, the measurement of these steroids in patients with autoimmune diseases or disturbances in the CNS may be of interest. A gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method for the determination of 7-hydroxy-metabolites of pregnenolone, DHEA, AD, and testosterone including the parent steroids was applied to serum samples from 12 adult men (27–66 years), 13 male adolescents (13–20 years), 5 boys (6–10 years), 15 women in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle (22–45 years), 17 women in the luteal phase (22–45 years), and 4 girls (6–10 years). The steroids were age and sex dependent, but independent of the menstrual cycle. The ratio of the 7α-hydroxy-metabolites to their parent steroids were age dependent, exhibiting an increasing trend ( p