Meldrum D R, Davidson B J, Tataryn I V, Judd H L
Obstet Gynecol. 1981 May;57(5):624-8.
to examine the possible effects of aging on circulating steroid hormones in postmenopausal women, blood samples were drawn from 155 women, aged 34 to 83 years, with spontaneous ovarian failure. The C-21 steroids, pregnenolone and 17-hydroxypregnenolone; the delta 4 progestins, progesterone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone; and cortisol did not change with age and were similar in concentration to the levels measured during the follicular phase of premenopausal women. The delta 5 androgens, dehydropiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, declined significantly (P less than .001) with age, whereas no change was noted in the delta 4 androgens, androstenedione and testosterone. The levels of estradiol (E2) and estrone (E1) were strongly correlated with percent ideal weight but did not change with age. The authors conclude that 1) The production of progestins does not change with age in normal adult women, other than that resulting from the loss of secretion associated with ovarian corpus luteum function. 2) The decline of delta 5 androgens without corresponding changes in their precursors suggests an age-related change of adrenal 17,20 desmolase activity. 3) The levels of E2 and E1 reflect an effect of body size but not of age on peripheral aromatization of precursor androgens.
为研究衰老对绝经后妇女循环甾体激素的可能影响，我们采集了155名年龄在34至83岁之间、卵巢功能自然衰竭的妇女的血样。C-21甾体激素孕烯醇酮和17-羟孕烯醇酮、Δ4孕激素孕酮和17-羟孕酮以及皮质醇的水平并未随年龄变化，且其浓度与绝经前妇女卵泡期测得的水平相似。Δ5雄激素脱氢表雄酮和硫酸脱氢表雄酮随年龄显著下降（P<0.001），而Δ4雄激素雄烯二酮和睾酮则无变化。雌二醇（E2）和雌酮（E1）的水平与理想体重百分比密切相关，但不随年龄变化。作者得出以下结论：1）正常成年女性中，除了与卵巢黄体功能相关的分泌丧失外，孕激素的产生不随年龄变化。2）Δ5雄激素下降而其前体无相应变化，提示肾上腺17,20碳链裂解酶活性存在与年龄相关的变化。3）E2和E1的水平反映了体型对前体雄激素外周芳香化的影响，而非年龄的影响。
