Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is now recognised to account for 5–10% of all cases of hypertension (and 20–25% of refractory hypertension). For patients with a demonstrable unilateral cause, adrenalectomy offers the potential for cure of PA, although resolution of hypertension occurs in only ~50% of patients. We have examined histological appearances and radiological features in patients with APAs undergoing adrenalectomy in an attempt to further our understa...

Background: Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) are rare aggressive tumors occurring at a rate of less than two per million per year. Uncommonly, there can be intravascular extension into renal veins and inferior vena cava (IVC), with resultant poorer prognosis.Clinical Case: A 26-year-old woman was referred for investigation of a two-month history of persistent left-sided abdominal pain - Computed tomography (CT) revealed a heterogeneous 12 cm left adrenal ...

Background: The Short Synacthen test (SST) is commonly used in clinical practice to evaluate adrenal function. Appropriate patient selection for SST is needed to ensure accurate interpretation of the results and to mitigate increased healthcare costs associated with unnecessary testing and inappropriate glucocorticoid (GC) steroid replacement. This study aimed to investigate the indications of inpatient SSTs over a one-year period, to determine the accuracy of testing.<p c...

Most aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs) have gain-of-function somatic mutations of ion channels or transporters. However, their frequency in aldosterone-producing cell-clusters of normal adrenals could suggest the existence of co-driver mutations which influence the development or phenotype of APAs [1]. Gain-of-function mutations in both CTNNB1 and the G-protein coupled receptor GNA11 were found by whole exome sequencing in 3/10 APAs. Further sequencing of...