| abstract |
A method for promoting weight control by treating a subject with a therapeutic amount of one of the DELTA 5-androstenes listed below to stimulate weight control without affecting appetite or inducing the synthesis of sex hormones. DELTA 5-Androstenes providing the desired biological activities include: DELTA 5-Androstene-3 beta ,7 alpha -diol-17-one (1) DELTA 5-Androstene-3 beta -ol-7,17-dione (2) DELTA 5-Androstene-3 beta ,7 alpha ,17 beta -triol (3) DELTA 5-Androstene-3 beta ,17 beta -diol-7-one (4) DELTA 5-Androstene-3 beta -acetoxy-7,16,17-trione (5) DELTA 5-Androstene-3 beta ,16 alpha -dihydroxy-7,17-dione (6) DELTA 5-Androstene-3 beta -propionoxy-16 beta -acetoxy-7,17-dione (7) DELTA 5-Androstene-3 beta ,7 alpha ,17 beta -triol-16-one (8) DELTA 5-Androstene-3 beta ,17 beta -diol-7,16-dione (9) DELTA 5-Androstene-3 beta ,16 alpha ,17 beta -triol-7-one (10) and derivatives thereof wherein one or more of the hydroxyl or keto substituents is a group convertible thereto by hydrolysis. |