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Abstract In females,androgens are obligate intermediates in ovarian estrogen synthesis, while in adrenals, androgens are produced as by products of corticosteroids (Kvedor et al.1985), wheareas peripheral tissues may form estrogen, as well as, biologically active androgens from circulating proandrogens (Vermeulen, 1983). It is well established that an excess of androgen production plays a crucial role in the development of hirsutism (Messina et al., 1983), which is the excessive growth of terminal hairs on part or more of the usual areas of males (as beard and moustache) in females (Bruer, 1980; Zaun, 1980; Braithwaite et al., 1983; Kvedar et al., 1985; Schwartz and Flink, 1985; Ebling et al., 1986). It is widely accepted that sex hormone-binding Globulin (SHBG) is a plasma transport protein for sex steroid hormones, and it is thought that SHBG-bound steroids are not available to target cells and that only the unbound and/or the albumin - bound fractions are biologically active (Hammond et al., 1984). A great deal of research has been carried out in the past decades in an attampt to clarify the pathogenesis of hirsutism. Three main pathways have been explored: oversecretion of androgens, increased sensitivity of hair follicle to circulating androgens, and alteration in the transport of androgens (Biffignandi et al., 1984). |