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Query: UMLS:C0020538 (hypertension)
 170,190 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Male Dahl-S rats were randomly assigned to either normal chow (NC) or high-salt (HS) diets to induce hypertension. Animals were further subdivided into trained (NCT, HST) and untrained (NCN, HSN) groups. Trained groups were exercised on a rodent treadmill 5 days per week for 12 weeks at a constant workload of 26.4 m/min, 5% grade, while duration progressed from 7.5 to 115 min/day. Arterial blood pressure was measured under anaesthesia by direct catheterization of femoral arteries after 4 and 8 weeks, and terminally via the carotid artery. Training resulted in significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure in trained groups compared with untrained. The trained animals also had significantly lower body weights. Analysis of regressed organ weights adjusted for differences in final body weight revealed that the NCT animals had heavier hearts and kidneys than the NCN animals. The HST animals had heavier hearts and lighter kidneys than the HSN animals.
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PMID:Effect of exercise on the development of salt-induced hypertension in Dahl-S rats. 373 45

We describe a case of aldosterone-producing adrenocortical adenoma (APA) associated with a probable post-operative adrenal crisis possibly due to subtle autonomous cortisol secretion. The patient was a 46-year-old female who suffered from severe hypertension and hypokalemia. CT and MRI scans revealed a 2-cm diameter adrenal mass. The patient's plasma aldosterone level was increased, and her plasma renin activity was suppressed, both of which findings were consistent with APA. Cushingoid appearance was not observed. Morning and midnight serum cortisol and plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels were all within the normal range. Her serum cortisol level was suppressed to 1.9 microg/dl as measured by an overnight 1-mg dexamethasone suppression test, but was incompletely suppressed (2.7 microg/dl) by an overnight 8-mg dexamethasone suppression test. In addition, adrenocortical scintigraphy showed a strong uptake at the tumor region and a complete suppression of the contra-lateral adrenal uptake. After unilateral adrenalectomy, she had an episode of adrenal crisis, and a transient glucocorticoid replacement improved the symptoms. Histopathological studies demonstrated that the tumor was basically compatible with APA. The clear cells in the tumor were admixed with small numbers of compact cells that expressed 17alpha-hydroxylase, suggesting that the tumor was able to produce and secrete cortisol. In addition, the adjacent non-neoplastic adrenal cortex showed cortical atrophy, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase immunoreactivity in the zonae fasciculata and reticularis was markedly diminished, suggesting that the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis of the patient was suppressed due to neoplastic production and secretion of cortisol. Together, these findings suggested that autonomous secretion of cortisol from the tumor suppressed the HPA axis of the patient, thereby triggering the probable post-operative adrenal crisis. Post-operative adrenocortical insufficiency should be considered in clinical management of patients with relatively large APA, even when physical signs of autonomous cortisol overproduction are not apparent.
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PMID:A case of aldosterone-producing adrenocortical adenoma associated with a probable post-operative adrenal crisis: histopathological analyses of the adrenal gland. 1456 6

A benign virilizing adrenal adenoma is rare among adrenal neoplasms in middle-aged women. A 39-yr-old Japanese woman who presented with hirsutism, obesity, diabetes mellitus and hypertension was admitted. Plasma concentrations of testosterone and DHEAS were high. While the basal level of plasma ACTH was suppressed, serum cortisol level was high and its circadian rhythm was absent. Serum cortisol level was not suppressed with the low- and high-dose overnight dexamethasone suppression test. Abdominal computed tomography showed a left adrenal tumor, and an adrenocortical scintigraphy revealed uptake of the tracer on the left side. Polycystic ovaries were also found and bone mineral density revealed osteoporosis. Histopathological features of resected adrenal tumor were consistent with those of adrenocortical adenoma. Immunoreactivity of all the steroidogenic enzymes was apparent in the tumor cells and particularly dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase (DHEA-ST) immunoreactivity was markedly expressed. Cortical atrophy and reduced expression of DHEA-ST were detected in the cortex of the adjacent non-neoplastic adrenal gland. Plasma testosterone, DHEAS and cortisol levels returned to normal after surgery, concomitantly with the disappearance of polycystic ovaries. This is a very rare case of virilizing adrenocortical adenoma complicated with Cushing's syndrome (CS).
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PMID:Unilateral adrenalectomy improves insulin resistance and polycystic ovaries in a middle-aged woman with virilizing adrenocortical adenoma complicated with Cushing's syndrome. 1847 59