Endocrine Abstracts

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Background: Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the first enzyme in the pathway of catecholamine synthesis catalyzing the conversion of tyrosine to dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA). To establish a molecular marker for adrenal pheochromocytomas, we compared the expression in various adrenal tumors in comparison to normal adrenal glands.Methods: Tissue from 19 pheochromocytomas (PHEO), 20 aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA), 20 cortisol-producing adenomas (CPA), an...

Adrenal pheochromocytomas are neoplasms characterized by catecholamine excess. We recently reported on the diagnostic value of plasma metanephrines measured by RIA for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. However, RIA may not be used in many laboratories.This study evaluated plasma and urinary metanephrines determined by a newly available ELISA as well as serum chromogranin A (CgA) for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. Spontaneous blood samples and 24h-ur...

Background: The diagnosis of hyperaldosteronism is hindered by the absence of a well-defined gold-standard. CYP11B2 (aldosterone synthase) belongs to the steroid-metabolizing enzymes catalyzing the last step of the aldosterone synthesis. To establish a molecular marker for aldosterone-producing adenomas, we compared the expression in various adrenal tumors.Methods: Tissue from 20 aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA), 12 hyperplasias associated with hyper...

Plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) to active renin concentration (ARC) ratio (ARR) is an established screening tool for primary aldosteronism. Previously we provided reliable cut-offs measuring PAC by a radioimmunoassay (RIA; Byk&DiaSorin) und ARC by an established immunoluminometric assay (Nichols Institute Diagnostics). Since the latter one is not longer available, we aimed to establish cut-offs for currently available assays.One hundred seven ...