Androgen assessment in hirsutism and alopecia.

Advances in technology, such as saturation analysis and nonisotopic immunoassays, have improved the measurement of androgens, binding proteins, and hormone receptors, and clarified the diagnosis of idiopathic hirsutism. Immunoassay methods in steroid biochemistry enable accurate measurement of low concentrations of various androgens and their metabolites; and high-specificity antisera with chemical blocking agents allow measurement of these steroid directly in plasma without resorting to extraction methods. The future may bring the capacity to measure free concentrations.