17-Ketosteroid Excretion in Ageing Subjects 185 



testosterone, 5 nig. of androst-4-ene-3,ll,17-trione (adren- 

 osterone), 7 mg. of Cortisol acetate, and 2 mg. of pregn-4- 

 ene-ll^,21-diol-3,20-dione (corticosterone). On this regime, 

 the mean total 17-ketosteroid excretion increased from 3-5^ 

 • 4 mg. per twenty-four hours to 15 • 8 ±1.2 mg. The urinary 

 excretion pattern has so far been determined for only one 

 subject. It is shown in Table II. Total 17-ketosteroid excre- 

 tion was 21 -8 mg., of which 9 mg. were androsterone, 6-6 mg 



Table II 



Urinary a-17-KETOSTEROiD Excretion of a Seventy-Seven-Year-Old 



Man Treated with Steroids.* 



mg./24 hrs. 



♦Daily Sublingual Dose =30 nig. Testosterone. 

 = 5 mg. Adrenosterone. 

 = 7 nig. Cortisol. 

 = 2 mg. Corticosterone. 



were 3etiocholan-3a-ol-17-one, 0-4 mg. was androstane-3a,ll/3- 

 diol-17-one, 0-22 mg. was androstan-3a-ol-ll, 17-dione, 0-14 

 mg. was 8etiocholane-3a,ll^-diol-17-one, and 0-58 mg. was 

 3etiocholan-3a-ol-ll, 17-dione. The total 17-ketosteroids and 

 the 11-desoxy C^g steroids are higher than the mean for 

 young men, but within the range for young men. The daily 

 dose of testosterone is apparently too high. The 11-oxygen- 

 ated steroids approximate young normal values, although 

 the 11 -oxygenated androstane derivatives are rather low. 



