Endocrine Abstracts

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most frequent form of secondary hypertension and results in an increased incidence of cardiovascular complications, independent of blood pressure. PA has two main causes: unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA, Conn’s syndrome) and bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia (BAH). The distinction is important because adrenalectomy for APA has the potential for cure. In order to identify an APA adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is advocated by ...

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most frequent form of secondary hypertension and results in an increased incidence of cardiovascular complications, independent of blood pressure. PA has two main causes: unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA, Conn’s syndrome) and bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia (BAH). The distinction is important because adrenalectomy for APA has the potential for cure. In order to identify an APA adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is advocated by ...

Primary aldosteronism (PA), the most frequent form of secondary hypertension, has two main causes: unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) and bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia. APA has the potential for cure of PA by adrenalectomy. In order to identify an APA guidelines advocate adrenal vein sampling (AVS), a technically demanding and expensive procedure of limited availability and with a controversy-raising variety in protocols. CT-scanning is a cheaper and simpler...

Background and study aims: Increased aldosterone production in the adrenal gland plays a role in many hypertensive patients. Structural changes of the zona glomerulosa with age in normotensive patients have been described in literature but the influence of aging on aldosterone secretion and physiology is unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate changes in the ZG in order to gain insight in the origin, development and definition of aldosterone producing cell clusters (A...

Introduction & Objectives: A laparoscopic radical adrenalectomy is the standard treatment option for unilateral primary aldosteronism. Partial adrenalectomy for solitary adenomas has been suggested to be feasible and adrenal cortex-sparing. However, solitary adenomas may be rare. The purpose of this study was to assess whether partial adrenalectomy in patients with a seemingly solitary adenoma might be worthwhile by relating perioperative imaging to pathologic findings of ...

Introduction: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a form of secondary hypertension, affecting 2.4% of the hypertensive population. It is caused by autonomous overproduction of aldosterone by either a unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) or by bilateral adrenal hyperplasia (BAH). Subtyping is crucial, because PA is cured by adrenalectomy in APA and is treated by medication in BAH. The reference standard in subtyping PA is adrenal vein sampling (AVS). However, it is invasive...

Introduction: Pheochromocytomas represent rare but potential lethal tumors arising from the adrenal medulla. Early recognition and diagnosis represent a challenge due to the non-specific character of signs and symptoms. The classic presentation includes headache, sweating, palpitations and other signs and symptoms of apparent catecholamine excess occurring in paroxysms. Sympathomimetics may result in a similar presentation, potentially complicating the diagnosis.<p class="...

Introduction: Phaeochromocytoma localisation is generally reliably achieved with modern imaging techniques, particularly in sporadic cases. Diagnostic doubt can arise due to the presence of bilateral adrenal abnormalities, particularly in patients with mutations in genes predisposing them to the phaeochromocytoma development. In such cases, surgical intervention is ideally limited to large or functional lesions due to the long-term consequences associated with hypoadrenalism. ...

Introduction: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is mainly caused by unilateral aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA) or bilateral adrenal hyperplasia (BAH). Subtype differentiation relies on the invasive and technically challenging adrenal venous sampling (AVS). We recently demonstrated the potential utility of peripheral plasma steroid profiling by LC-MS/MS to distinguish APA and BAH. We tested the following hypotheses: first, if steroid profiling in combination with AVS, effectively...

Context: More reliable parameters than cortisol are needed for assessing correct catheter positioning during adrenal vein sampling (AVS). Plasma metanephrine represents one such alternative.Objective: To determine the utility of adrenal venous (AV) plasma concentrations of metanephrine to establish correct catheter positioning during AVS.Design and methods: We included 86 AVS procedures: 52 ACTH-stimulated and 34 non-stimulated seq...