Abstract
Summary and Conclusions
Pregneninolone, though chemically very closely related to both testosterone and progesterone, does not manifest in women the same multiplicity of biological properties that it does in experimental animals. In women, its most striking property is its progestomimetic effect on the estrogen-primed endo-metrium, when administered orally.
In contrast to its action in rats, in women pregneninolone appears to have: (a) no estromimetic effect on the endometrium and only a very slight effect on the vaginal epithelium if given in very large doses; and (b) no arrhenomimetic effects.
Two interesting observations emerge from this study that are worthy of note. First, the profound change in biologic activity that resulted from the introduction of the ethinyl group at the 17th carbon atom of the testosterone molecule, which is the only manner in which pregneninolone differs from testosterone. Second, the striking difference in the biological properties displayed by the same compound when administered to experimental animals and to humans.
The results of this study draw attention to the inadvisability of applying to humans, observations concerning the biological properties of hormones as determined in animal experiments and emphasizes the importance of determining (by means of objective studies) the biological properties of these compounds in humans before using them as therapeutic agents.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.