Hirsutism and evaluation of the dexamethasone suppression and chorionic gonadotropin stimulation test

The present study was undertaken to assess the value of the dexamethasone (DXM) suppression and human chrionic gonadotropin (HCG) stimulation test in the differential diagnosis of hirsutism. A total number of 31 women were studied of whom 5 were a group of volunteers from a penal farm. Twenty-six were patients with hirsutism of varied etiology. In the presence of normal adrenal function, a lack of suppression of 17-ketosteroid excretion after 7 days of DXM administration suggests strongly the presence of an androgenic ovary (polycystic ovary syndrome or ovarian tumor). On the basis of the present findings, however, it would have to be concluded that a negative response to HCG stimulation does not exclude the possibility of a Stein-Leventhal syndrome and that the test is invalid if any evidence of adrenal hyperactivity exists. The study on a volunteer who had had previous ovariectomy showed no response to HCG stimulation.