Evaluation of DHEA Level in Serum of Fertile and Infertile Women

The sulfation of the adrenal steroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a critical step in the provision of substrates for estrogen biosynthesis by the placenta during pregnancy.     Dehydroepinadrosterone (DHEA) supplementation improves pregnancy chances in women with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), by possibly reducing aneuploidy. Defects in the synthesis of DHEA cause deficiencies in the synthesis of androgens and estrogens. In the first stage, mutations in the StAR gene cause potentially lethal lipoid CAH. Defects in the cholesterol side chain cleavage enzyme, the second step, are rare. Defects in the third stage, 17-hydroxylation lead to hypertension and female sexual infantilism. Defects in the final stage of DHEA synthesis, 17, 20 lyase activity, are due to disorders of electron transfer to P450c17, including mutations in PO