The adrenal androgens dehydroepiandrosterone and androstenediol do not stimulate rat tibial growth

Abstract Adrenal androgen levels increase in late childhood during a period known as adrenarche. The role of increased adrenal androgens during this period is not known, nor have their effects on skeletal growth been clearly established. We investigated the effect of dehydroepiandrosterone and androstenediol administration on tibial growth in castrated 21 day old male rats. Growth rate was assessed by measurement of epiphyseal growth plate width and longitudinal growth rate. In the dehydroepiandrosterone-treated rats, the epiphyseal growth plate width and the longitudinal growth rate did not change significantly even though serum dehydroepiandrosterone levels increased from 18±2 to 395±52 ng/dl. Likewise, in the androstenediol-treated rats, the epiphyseal growth plate width and longitudinal growth rate did not change significantly even though serum androstenediol levels increased from 58±6 to 143±14 ng/dl. These data suggest that dehydroepi-androsterone and androstenediol do not stimulate rat tibial growth.