CHANGES IN SERUM LIPIDS AND URINARY KETOSTEROIDS DURING ORAL AND INTRAMUSCULAR ADMINISTRATION OF ANDROSTERONE*†

Abstract

Androsterone administered orally to 13 men with coronary heart disease in a dosage of 100 mg. daily for one month had practically no clinical or serum lipidshifting effects. In contrast, androsterone given intramuscularly to 8 men in a dosage of 50 mg. daily for one to four weeks resulted in a significant decrease in the levels of serum triglycerides and phospholipids, as well as total cholesterol, reflecting a reduction in the β-lipoprotein fraction. Despite this decrease, the frequency of local and systemic side-effects renders this compound unsuitable for routine clinical use. Androsterone was excreted in the urine chiefly as the glucuronide, and a small amount of isoandrosterone was also isolated.