Secretion rate of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in benign essential hypertension as compared to normal subjects

A study of the secretion rate of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) in normal subjects and patients with benign essential hypertension by a double isotope dilution method showed a fivefold increase in the secretion rate of dehydroepiandrosterone (from 9.8 mg/day ± 3.1 mg/day S.D. to 52.0 mg/day ± 15.5 mg/day S.D.), and a sixfold increase of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in hypertensive patients (from 10.7 mg/day ± 2.9 mg/day S.D. to 60.7 mg/day ± 18.6 mg/day S.D.). This study was carried out following the administration of 14C-labelled DHEA and 3H-labelled DHEA-S and involved an initial column chromatographic separation of urinary DHEA-glucuronide and sulfate.