TY - JOUR T1 - Are women with Sjögren's syndrome androgen-deficient? JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 2413 LP - 2419 VL - 30 IS - 11 AU - David A Sullivan AU - Alain Bélanger AU - Jennifer M Cermak AU - René Bérubé AU - Athena S Papas AU - Rose M Sullivan AU - Hiroko Yamagami AU - M Reza Dana AU - Fernand Labrie Y1 - 2003/11/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/30/11/2413.abstract N2 - OBJECTIVE: We hypothesize that androgen deficiency is a critical etiologic factor in the pathogenesis of aqueous-deficient and evaporative dry eye in Sjögren's syndrome (SS). We investigated whether women with SS have a deficiency in total androgens. We also examined whether these patients have elevated serum concentrations of estrogens. METHODS: Blood was drawn from women with primary and secondary SS and age matched controls, and analyzed for steroid concentrations by gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Our results show that women with SS are androgen-deficient. Concentrations of 5-androstene-3beta,17beta-diol (5-diol), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), androsterone-glucuronide (ADT-G), and androstane-3a,17beta-diol-G (3alpha-diol-G) were all significantly reduced in SS sera relative to controls. In contrast, SS was not associated with significant alterations in the serum concentrations of testosterone, androstenedione, estrone, or 17beta-estradiol. These overall findings could not be attributed to the use of oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy, because the concentrations of 5-diol, DHEA, DHT, ADT-G and 3a-diol-G were also decreased in patients with SS compared to levels in control women who were not taking exogenous estrogens. CONCLUSION: Our results show that women with SS are androgen-deficient. ER -