test directorySearch Results
Click here to search again.
Test Name:
Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate (DHEA-S)
- SBMF No:
30123 - Performance Lab Name:
Immunochemistry - Test Mnemonic:
DHEA-S - ABN:
Not required - CPT Code:
82627 - LOINC Code:
2191-5 - Also Known As:
DHEA-S
DHEA-SO4
DHEA Sulfate - Spec Type:
Serum - Spec Container:
Gold top (SST) or red top (serum) tube - Pref Vol:
1.0 mL - Min Vol:
0.5 mL - Fasting:
No - Spec Collect:
Routine venipuncture - Spec Process:
Serum sample tubes, clot 30 minutes
Promptly centrifuge 15 minutes
Immediately transfer serum or plasma to separate plastic tube
Properly centrifuged gel barrier tube sample does not require transfer of serum to separate tube - Spec Store Transport:
Refrigerated - Spec Stability:
5 days refrigerated (2-8°C)
1 month frozen (-20°C) – Do not use frost-free units that undergo repeated freeze/thaw cycles - Spec Reject:
Severely hemolyzed or lipemic sample - Methodology:
Chemiluminescent Immunoassay (ChLIA) - Use:
Important to investigations of abnormal hair growth (hirsutism) and balding (alopecia) in women and is of value in the assessment of adrenarche and delayed puberty. DHEA-S is elevated in neonates, decreases markedly within the first few months of life and remain low until about 7 years of age. - Clinical Significance:
Measurement of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-SO4, DHEA-S), an adrenal steroid, is important to investigations of abnormal hair growth (hirsutism) and balding (alopecia) in women. It is also of value in the assessment of adrenarche and delayed puberty. The DHEA-SO4 in circulation originates almost entirely from the adrenals, though in men some may also derive from the testes, partly accounting for the sex difference, which emerges at, about age 15. On the other hand, this hormone is not produced by the ovaries even under pathological conditions. In itself, DHEA-SO4 is only weakly androgenic, but it can metabolize to more potent androgens like androstenedione and testosterone, and thus be indirectly a cause of hirsutism or virilization.
DHEA-SO4 is often assayed in conjunction with free testosterone as an initial screen for hyperandrogenism in hirsutism. At least one of these two hormones is likely to be elevated in the great majority of cases – reportedly over 80 percent of the time. Sometimes DHEA-SO4 is the only hormone circulating at a level above normal, and is apparently more likely to be elevated during the early stages of hirsutism than most other androgens.
High DHEA-SO4 levels are often encountered in the polycystic ovary syndrome, showing that adrenal hyperandrogenism is a typical facet of this syndrome. Extremely high levels (greater than 700 or 800 μg/dL) in women are suggestive of a hormone-secreting adrenal tumor. (By contrast, DHEA-SO4 levels are typically normal in the presence of ovarian tumors.) Elevated plasma levels that, over the course of two weeks or so, are dexamethasone-suppressible may also result from adrenal hyperplasia.
Plasma levels of DHEA-SO4 increase steadily from about the seventh year of life, and then gradually decline after the third decade. Pregnancy and oral contraceptives induce a moderate decrease.
- Reference Range:
Male:
1-5 years: Less than 30 μg/dL
5-11 years: 10-120 μg/dL
11-18 years: 30-426 μg/dL
18-30 years: 80-500 μg/dL
30-40 years: 78-430 μg/dL
40-50 years: 56-360 μg/dL
50-60 years: 42-426 μg/dL
60 years and older: 16-200 μg/dLFemale:
1-5 years: Less than 30 μg/dL
5-11 years: 10-120 μg/dL
11-17 years: 30-426 μg/dL
17-30 years: 55-430 μg/dL
30-40 years: 57-408 μg/dL
40-50 years: 28-290 μg/dL
50 years and older: 14-180 μg/dL
Postmenopausal: 14-180 μg/dL - Day Run:
Mon, Wed, Fri - Time Run:
8:00 am - Time Reported:
5:00 pm - Test Type:
HORMONE
