In adult females, excessive secretion of androsterone is often caused by adrenal cortical hyperplasia or tumors, with tumors being the more common cause.

bubble_chart Diagnosis

1. Adult women may experience a reduction in secondary sexual characteristics and some female sexual traits, such as breast atrophy, loss of fat in the shoulders and hips, decreased or absent menstruation, and clitoral enlargement.

2. The appearance of male characteristics, such as male-pattern distribution of pubic hair and beard, muscular development, acne on the face and chest, an enlarged Adam's apple, and a deepening voice resembling that of a male.

3. A significant increase in urinary 17-ketosteroids.

4. Ultrasound and CT scans can detect the presence of tumors in the adrenal glands. {|103|}

bubble_chart Treatment Measures

1. If it is an adrenal tumor, surgical resection should be performed.

2. For adrenal cortical hyperplasia, cortisone suppression therapy should be applied, with the dose being the same as that for treating female pseudohermaphroditism. However, if accompanied by severe metabolic disorders, unilateral adrenalectomy or bilateral subtotal adrenalectomy may be performed.