ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

To read the full abstract: Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2017; 28(11):771-793

Walter Miller summarizes in this review currently unsolved questions in steroidogenesis and provides some ideas as to how they might be solved. Eleven areas are identified, some are more specifically related to the adrenal cortex. In brief, a) novel adrenal androgens from alternat(iv)e pathways have been described recently. What is their specific role in hyperandrogenic disorders? Or, b) what exact physiologic role has the human fetal adrenal; and what triggers its involution after birth? Or, c) why is CAH due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency rare in African-Americans? Miller shows that “research in steroidogenesis is more exciting than ever” and necessitates attention from the full range of scientific approaches including clinical, translational and basic studies.