[Adrenal reactivity to prolonged-action ACTH in hirsute women treated with 50 mg of cyproterone acetate combined with percutaneous estradiol].

A prolonged-action Synacthen (R) test (1 mg.i.m. was performed in 14 hirsute women before and 6 months after instituting combined treatment with cyproterone acetate (50 mg/day/21 days) and percutaneous estradiol (3 mg during the last 10 days of cyproterone acetate administration). Determination of blood cortisol and precursors of cortisol--plasma androgens--was carried out to evaluate possible modification of adrenal enzymatic activity. At the used doses, cyproterone acetate failed to influence adrenal reactivity to synthetic ACTH or the enzymatic activities of 21-hydroxylase and 17-beta-reductase in vivo.