Excretion of non-conjugated androstenedione and testosterone in human urine

Long-term administration of testosterone enanthate to normal men: alterations of the urinary profile of androgen metabolites potentially useful for detection of testosterone misuse in sport

Doses equivalent to 18, 72 and 216 mg testosterone (T)/week were administered for 6 months to eugonadal men. Urinary excretions of androgen glucuronides (G) were quantitatively analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with stable isotope dilution during periods of control (without hormone treatment), T administration and recovery. The lowest dosage T administration did not affect the androgen profile, while higher dosages generally increased urinary excretions of T metabolites (TG, T sulfate, glucuronides of androsterone, etiocholanolone, 5 alpha- and 5 beta-androstane-3 alpha,17 beta-diol) and decreased excretions of conjugates of epitestosterone (ET) and its precursor androgen 5-androstene-3 beta,17 alpha-diol. A dose-dependent decrease of urinary LH in response to T was also observed. The ratio (T/ET)G, which is the sole official criterium for assessment of T self-administration by athletes, increased above the threshold value of 6 in most of the subjects, but not all, after the two highest dosage T regimens, and returned to normal during the recovery period. False positive or negative testing emphasizes the need for improvement of testing procedures. In this regard, valuable complementary information may be gained from ratios such as TG/ET(Total), TG/LH, (T/5-androstene-3 beta,17 alpha-diol)G, (5 alpha/5 beta)androstane-3 alpha,17 alpha-diol and (5 alpha/5 beta)androstane-3 alpha,17 beta-diol.

Urinary testosterone measurement by gas chromatography after solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography

A method was developed for the rapid determination of testosterone in urine. The procedure consists of solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) clean-up before gas chromatographic determination. Recovery was evaluated by adding [3H]testosterone (10(4) cpm) to urine samples; the mean recovery of radioactivity after SPE and HPLC was 82%. Precision was estimated by repeated measurement of testosterone in four different urine samples; the coefficient of variation was 7.9% (95% confidence limits 6.1-11.4%). Accuracy was evaluated by standard addition and dilution assays; a linear relationship was found between the expected and observed values (r2 = 0.982). The method is rapid, effective and suitable for routine analysis.

Testosterone assays: guidelines for the provision of a clinical biochemistry service

Approximately one year after the devolution of testosterone assays from the SAS, the Analytical Methods Working Party of the Association of Clinical Biochemists set up a working party to investigate the performance of the assays, to survey the available methodology and to give guidance on the factors that influence the assay. This document represents a summary of the deliberations of the group and forms one of a series of similar reports.

A solid phase chemiluminescent immunoassay (LIA) for testosterone glicuronide in diluted urines

A chemiluminescent immunoassay (LIA) method in solid phase for the measurement of testosterone 17 beta-D-glicuronide (TG) in diluted urine is described, which utilizes as tracer a TG-isoluminol conjugate (TG-ABEI). An IgG fraction of antiserum of TG-BSA, has been passively adsorbed to the walls of polystyrene tubes. After the binding reaction the coated tubes were washed with buffer and the measure of chemiluminescence reaction was performed at high pH. The assay was validated in terms of specificity, accuracy, sensitivity and precision. The values obtained by chemiluminescence immunoassay were compared with that obtained by the RIA method, and the two methods agreed well (r = 0.95, n = 28). The assay method offers the advantage of speed and does not involve the use of radioisotopes or of a centrifugation step. Preliminary results show that the mean 24 h urinary TG excretion in a group of hirsute women is higher than in the control group, and decreases after suppression with dexamethasone for 1 month of therapy.

Specific estimation of fifteen unconjugated, non-metabolized steroid hormones in human urine

A method for the specific determination of 15 free, non-metabolized steroid hormones in human urine is described. The steroids progesterone (P), androstenedione (AD), pregnenolone (PL), 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), testosterone (T), 11-deoxycorticosterone (DOC), 17-OH-progesterone (17-OHP), 17-OH-pregnenolone (17-PL), 11-deoxycortisol (S), 18-OH-11-deoxycorticosterone (18-OH-DOC), corticosterone (B), aldosterone (Aldo), cortisol (F), and 18-OH-corticosterone (18-OH-B) were extracted from 2 ml urine samples by a solid-phase technique, subjected to automatic high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and finally quantitated by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The combination of HPLC and RIA provides a high specificity of steroid estimates. The automatic mode of HPLC renders the method quite suitable for series analyses in research or for routine purposes. Precision and accuracy are satisfactory, and comparable with the level commonly achieved in RIA techniques. The mean values (nmol/24 h) of reference ranges established from 32 normal males were as follows: P: 0.36; AD: 9.76; PL: 0.90; DHT: 0.61; DHEA: 6.76; T: 1.43; DOC: 0.35; 17-OHP: 1.03; 17-PL: 0.20; S: 0.24; 18-OH-DOC: 2.11; B: 1.49; Aldo: 0.46; F: 68.3; 18-OH-B: 5.41. This highly practicable method may be particularly useful for the further investigation of the physiological or diagnostic significance of the non-conjugated, non-metabolized fraction of steroid hormones in urine.