Hi Bebe,

 

I was talking to my son’s peds. endo recently, and did get the question answered about what happens in the case of 3-betas, when there are high levels of DHEA, but low levels of androstenedione and testosterone.  I knew that the lack of testosterone sometimes produced UNDER-virilization in boys, but I didn’t know why there would then sometimes be MILD virilization in girls---whether it was due to the high DHEA, or had more to do with whether the enzyme block was partial or complete.

 

Anyway, the MILD virilization DOES have to do with the high levels of DHEA.  Because testosterone is the hormone that produces severe virilization, lack of it would keep this from happening, if your baby is a girl with CAH.  For a 3-beta, then, I really can’t think of a single reason why prenatal dex treatment would be warranted.  Experimental procedures are always about risk vs. benefit, anyway, and in your situation, it seems to me that prenatal treatment would involve a huge amount of risk with little to no benefit.