[Extrarenal excretion of epitestosterone in the adult male].

Twentyfour hour-urinary 17-oxo-steroids (17 KS), epitestosterone (ET) and testosterone (T) were measured before and after a 5-day-HCG-stimulation test performed in 65 healthy male volunteers aged 30 to 76 years. Subjects whose basal urinary T was higher than average physiological values showed a lower increase (p less than 0,001) in ET excretion rate after HCG stimulation than the rest of the casuistry. Neither T nor 17 KS increase after HCG stimulation showed any significant differences in the two subgroups. As ET behaves differently as compared both to the typical testicular androgen, and to the testicular-adrenal metabolites, the adrenal glands may not be the only nor even the main source of ET in the urine of healthy men.