Abstract

The 24-hour excretion of 17-ketosteroids and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids has been estimated in a series of male duodenal ulcer subjects and compared with that of 56 normal male controls. It has been found that both 17-ketosteroid and 17-hydroxycorticosteroid excretion is less in ulcer subjects than in the control group; these differences are not large but in the case of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids they are statistically significant. For active ulcers (107 men) 17-hydroxycorticosteroid excretion is approximately 78% of normal and 17-ketosteroid excretion 93% of normal; in the quiescent phase (50 men) the differences are rather larger, being respectively 71% and 86% of normal. This reduced excretion persists after operation in both the short term, six months after operation (53 men), and the long term, 10 years and more after gastric resection (39 men).