Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: Aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA) are a major cause of primary aldosteronism. Somatic mutations explain the excess aldosterone production in the majority of patients with APA with mutations in KCNJ5 encoding a potassium channel the most prevalent in most reported populations. Mechanisms driving cell proliferation are largely undefined.Design and method: Quantitative transcriptome analysis using RNA-seq was used to identify differen...

Background: Aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA) are a major cause of primary aldosteronism. Somatic mutations explain the excess aldosterone production in the majority of patients with APA with mutations in the potassium channel KCNJ5 the most prevalent. In contrast, mechanisms driving cell proliferation are largely unresolved.Objective: To identify genes that modulate cell growth in APAs.Methods: Quantitative transcripto...

Background: Primary aldosteronism is commonly caused by an aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA). Somatic mutations in the KCNJ5 gene (encoding an inwardly rectifying potassium channel) are found in around 40% of APAs, KCNJ5 germline mutations cause familial hyperaldosteronism type III. The role of KCNJ5 mutations in excessive aldosterone production is established but their role in cell growth is unclear.Objective: To study the e...

Background: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a secondary form of arterial hypertension that – in case of unilateral disease – can be cured by surgery. Multiple studies have shown that PA patients are at higher risk to suffer from cardiovascular events and to develop metabolic diseases. Two thirds of patients with PA suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). A bi-directional, pathophysiological interplay between OSA and PA has been proposed, with focus on overnight ro...

Introduction: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common surgically curable cause for endocrine hypertension. Patients with unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma undergo adrenalectomy (ADX). Clinical and biochemical outcome is assessed 6-12 months after ADX according to PASO consensus. To reduce unnecessary follow-up visits and change in medication for diagnostic purposes for potentially cured patients after ADX, a prediction tool is needed. Previous research had shown g...

Background: Primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) has been associated with increased risk of infection, adrenal crises and a higher mortality rate. This is caused by altered circadian cortisol profiles, which ultimately lead to immune cell dysregulation. In this study, we aim to characterize differences in immunophenotype of PAI patients of three different etiologies.Methods: Cross-sectional single center study including 28 patients with congenital adrenal...

Rationale: Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is a hallmark of primary aldosteronism and paves the way for subsequent atherosclerotic disease. Past research has confirmed that one factor involved in ED is disturbed nitric oxide (NO) signalling. Since defects in NO release alone cannot explain the whole effect, we set out to address the role of endothelial CYP-expoygenase products (epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, EETs) in aldosterone-mediated endothelial dysfunction.<p class="abstext"...