Brief partial syntheses are described for ring B unsaturated estriols, which are candidate metabolites diagnostic for Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome prenatally. These steroids are also likely metabolites of the Premarin preparation used in estrogen replacement therapy. Equilin (8) was converted in three steps to 7-dehydroestriol, which was isomerized to 8- dehydroestriol. The simplicity of the transformations belies the lability of these previously ...
