The relationship of adrenal androgens to the secretory patterns for cortisol, prolactin, and growth hormone during early puberty.

Serum concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHA-sulfate), cortisol, prolactin, and growth hormone were measured at half-hour intervals for 24 hr in five healthy children aged 8--13 yr. Their adolescent development was assessed by clinical staging, plus determinations of serum FSH, LH, testosterone and estradiol during both wakefulness and sleep. Correlative analysis indicates that there was synchronous secretion of DHA and cortisol, implying regulation of both by ACTH. With advancing age and sexual maturation, there was a progressive rise in mean serum DHA and DHA-sulfate levels, but no similar change in serum cortisol concentrations. There was evidence for enhanced secretion of both growth hormone and prolactin during sleep in all subjects (including one who was hyperprolactinemic), but there was no obvious relationship between levels of these pituitary hormones and the early pubertal rise in adrenal androgens.