Peripheral hormone levels and the endometrial condition in postmenopausal women.

Thirteen postmenopausal women with benign endometrial changes including proliferative, secretory and polypous endometrium, endometrial hyperplasia and atypia (group I) and 13 randomly selected age-matched controls with normal atrophic endometrium (group II) were studied with respect to serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA) and its sulfate (DHAS), testosterone, total estrone, estradiol-17 beta, progesterone, FSH and prolactin. Serum levels of DHA, DHAS, testosterone and total estrone were significantly higher in group I than in group II; otherwise no significant differences were found. Mean values for body weight and for Broca's index, respectively, were almost identical in the two groups. It is speculated that the adrenal androgens may affect the endometrium in two ways, viz. via peripheral conversion to estrogens and/or via direct interaction with endometrial steroid receptors. The results give further support to the hypothesis of an association between adrenocortical hyperactivity and endometrial abnormalities including endometrial carcinoma.

Metabolism of estrone sulfate in human endometrium.

The metabolism of [3H] estrone sulfate was studied in endometrial tissue obtained from postmenopausal women with atrophic endometrium (I), benign endometrial proliferative changes (II) and endometrial carcinoma (III) and in perimenopausal women with proliferative (IV) and secretory (V) endometrium. Total hydrolysis (i.e. formation of [3H] estrone + [3H] estradiol-17 beta) of [3H] estrone sulfate as well as formation of [3H] estradiol-17 beta only was significantly less in group I than in the other groups. The formation of [3H] estradiol-17 beta was greater in group V than in the other groups. It is speculated that formation of estradiol-17 beta in the endometrium from estrone sulfate may be of importance in the genesis of endometrial disorders in the postmenopausal woman.