Hormonal aspects in the diagnosis of hirsutism

Hormones of hypophyseal-adrenal axes were determined in 135 girls with hirsutism. On the basis of changes in the hormonal levels it was established that the syndrome of Stein-Leventhal in 62 girls (54% of the patients) was dependent on luteinizing hormone (LH) and was characterized by an increased index of LH/FSH over 3.0 as well as by an increased level of testosterone; hirsutism in 73 girls (67% of the patients) was dependent on adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and was characterized by an increased level of ACTH and cortisol secretion; in the remaining patients hirsutism was a combination of both forms of dependence on LH and ACTH and an increase of hormones of both axes was present or was idiopathic with normal hormonal plasma levels, but with increased skin conversion and metabolic testosterone clearance.