Urinary 5 alpha-androstane-3 alpha, 17 beta-diol (5-Ad) determination in healthy children and adults.

The authors suggest a method for the evaluation of the urinary 5 alpha-androstane-3 alpha, 17 beta-diol (5 Ad) carried out by gas-liquid chromatography. 5-Ad is separated from its isomers, first by means of an adsorption chromatography on alumina and then by means of a high performance liquid chromatography on porous silica. The reliability criteria of the method have been studied according to the advice of the French Society of Clinical Biology. This method, applied to 175 healthy individuals of both sexes, grouped according to age starting from three years, allowed to determine the usual values of urinary excretion of 5-Ad in relation to age.