Significance of free testosterone assay in comparison with traditional R.I.A. androgens in diagnosis of androgens excess.

In 35 women, 16-32 years old (average age 24) affected by hirsutism associated to menstrual disorders as oligomenorrhea or secondary amenorrhea, the real utility of testosterone's free fraction assay (FT) in comparison with conventional hormonal assays has been valued. The free testosterone (FT) resulted the most frequently elevated hormone (69%). The analysis of the different groups shows a good sensitivity and specificity of FT assay in some conditions as PCOD, but it is not so sensitive and specific in other conditions as secondary amenorrhea. We conclude that FT assay is particularly useful for the hyperandrogenism study, especially in the PCOD; for its high diagnostic sensitivity it would be assayed in all the women with hirsutism, but it isn't sufficient for the screening of the different hyperandrogenic states.