ABSTRACT
In women androgens are produced by the ovaries and the adrenal glands which secrete androstenedione (A), testosterone (T) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), with the latter also producing DHEA-sulfate (DHEA-S). The peripheral conversion of preandrogens to testosterone accounts for at least 50% of circulating T, with A being the main peripheral precursor 1 . In regularly ovulating women the mean plasma levels of both A and T increase during the middle third of the menstrual cycle 2 . However, increasing age is associated with a decline in total circulating androgens partly resulting from lessened ovarian androgen secretion after menopause, and partly due to the age-related decline in adrenal androgen and preandrogen production 3–5 .
