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Contrast-enhanced MR imaging of the kidneys and adrenal glands.

Technical developments including motion artifact compensation and the use of paramagnetic contrast agents have substantially improved the performance of MR imaging of the kidneys and adrenal glands. MR imaging allows one to assess morphologic alterations of the kidneys as well as perfusion and functional derangements. MR imaging is the best noninvasive method for distinction of benign from malignant adrenal masses.

Adrenal Gland Diseases↗

Laparoscopic transperitoneal adrenalectomy.

BACKGROUND: From November 1993 to May 2002 a total of 172 laparoscopic adrenalectomies were attempted in 152 patients in centers throughout the United Kingdom. RESULTS: The median age was 52 years (18-77 years). Sixty-three percent were female. Indications for resection were Conn's syndrome (60), pheochromocytoma (35), Cushing's disease (24), Cushing's adenoma (8), cortisol-secreting carcinoma (1), other secreting tumor (2), nonfunctioning adenoma (17), congenital adrenal hyperplasia (4), metastatic disease (7), nonsecreting adrenal carcinoma (2), others (12). Median size of the lesions was 3.0 cm (0.5-20 cm). Median operating time was 65 min (30-170 min). Conversion to an open procedure was necessary in 10 patients (7%). Minor morbidity occurred in nine patients (5%). Major morbidity occurred in two patients (pancreatitis, peritonitis). Median hospital stay was 3 days (1-16 days). At median follow-up of 36 months (1-105 months) five patients (4%) had persistent hypertension. No patient had evidence of recurrent hormonal excess. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic removal of the adrenal gland should be considered the surgical procedure of choice in experienced minimally invasive centers.

Adrenal Gland Diseases↗

Adrenal imaging.

CT is the imaging procedure of choice for detecting adrenal masses. In patients with biochemical evidence of an adrenal endocrine syndrome, CT can detect or exclude an adrenal mass in a high percentage of cases. Radionuclide scintigraphy is a useful adjunct in selected cases to characterize an adrenal mass as functional cortical (NP-59) or medullary (MIBG) tissue. In this article, the spectrum of adrenal imaging findings in patients with Cushing's syndrome, Conn's syndrome (primary aldosteronism), and pheochromocytoma is described and illustrated. In patients without an adrenal endocrine syndrome, an adrenal mass is detected on CT as an incidental finding or during a search for metastatic disease. Although pathognomonic findings of adrenal hemorrhage or myelolipoma are occasionally demonstrated, most adrenal masses have nonspecific morphological CT features. Differentiation of common benign adenomas from nonadenomatous adrenal masses, including metastases, remains an important clinical problem. This article reviews the current status, advantages, and limitations of the following methods to characterize an adrenal mass: (1) percutaneous adrenal biopsy, (2) NP-59 scintigraphy, (3) unenhanced CT densitometry, and (4) opposed-phase chemical shift MRI.

Adenoma↗

Circulatory shock.

Patients with malignancy may present with acute circulatory compromise requiring ICU monitoring and care. The clinician must be familiar with a multiplicity of acute and chronic medical conditions common to the general population and also with conditions directly related to cancer or therapy thereof.

Adrenal Gland Diseases↗

The rare occurrence of absent adrenals in a term infant: a case report and review of the literature.

A female infant (gestational age, 37 weeks) presented with respiratory distress and pulmonary hypertension. Incidental to her clinical course, she was discovered by abdominal ultrasound to have absent adrenal glands bilaterally. This is the first case report of congenitally absent adrenal glands noted at birth. The exons of the patient's SF-1 gene were sequenced, and despite identifying a single nucleotide polymorphism that preserves proline at position 125 of SF-1, none of the previously identified mutations were detected in our samples. The known role of SF-1 and its mutations in adrenal gland development are discussed.

Adrenal Gland Diseases↗

Use of compounded adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) for adrenal function testing in dogs.

Serum cortisol concentrations were measured in five healthy dogs in response to five adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) preparations. Cortisol concentrations were similar at time 0 (pre-ACTH) and at 30 and 60 minutes after injection of all forms of ACTH. However, at 90 and 120 minutes post-ACTH, serum cortisol concentrations were significantly lower following injection of two compounded forms of ACTH. The data showed that injection of four compounded forms of ACTH caused elevations in serum cortisol concentrations of a similar magnitude as cosyntropin in samples collected 60 minutes after administration; but concentrations at later times varied, depending on the type of ACTH used.

Adrenal Cortex Function Tests↗

Renal masses in children. An integrated imaging approach to diagnosis.

In view of the continuing technologic advancements in the development and availability of diagnostic imaging modalities, it is appropriate to assess periodically the currently accepted approaches to the evaluation of renal masses in children. The roles, advantages, and disadvantages of plain film, intravenous urography, ultrasonography, radionuclide scintigraphy, computed tomography, angiography, and magnetic resonance imaging in the approach to the evaluation of renal masses in children are discussed. An integrated imaging approach that provides the most accurate and necessary information for diagnosis and treatment is recommended.

Adrenal Gland Diseases↗

Functioning and nonfunctioning cysts of the adrenal cortex and medulla.

Adrenal cysts are rare clinical and pathologic entities. The vast majority are minute in size, unilateral, and found in females at autopsy. They come to the physician's attention when they produce symptoms or are identified on x-ray studies. When symptomatic, they generally produce lumbar discomfort and gastrointestinal symptoms, and occasionally are palpable by abdominal examination. There is no significant agreement as to cause and pathogenesis of the disease. The most common histologic types are lymphangiomatous endothelial cysts, secondary to lymphangiectasis, and the fibrous wall or hemorrhagic pseudocysts. In many patients preoperative diagnosis is now possible with high quality nephrotomography, ultrasonography, and adrenal arteriography. The presence of a suprarenal mass with peripheral or laminar calcification strongly suggests the presence of an adrenal pseudocyst. Selective biochemical studies are mandatory to rule out the presence of an occult cystic pheochromocytoma, and adrenal cortical tumor. Adrenal cysts must be differentiated from all space-occupying lesions of the upper abdomen. Surgical exploration is recommended in almost all patients for accurate diagnosis and to rule out malignant disease or occult pheochromocytoma. The choice of the surgical approach should be planned to provide for safe and adequate exposure, depending on the size and location of the lesion. Careful dissection with preservation of the adjacent kidney, liver, and pancreas should be performed.

Adrenal Cortex↗

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in pregnancy: challenges in disease detection and treatment.

Pregnancy dramatically affects the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis leading to increased circulating cortisol and ACTH levels during gestation, reaching values in the range seen in Cushing's syndrome (CS). The cause(s) of increased ACTH may include placental synthesis and release of biologically active CRH and ACTH, pituitary desensitization to cortisol feedback, or enhanced pituitary responses to corticotropin-releasing factors. In this context, challenges in diagnosis and management of disorders of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in pregnancy are discussed. CS in pregnancy is uncommon and is associated with fetal morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis may be missed because of overlapping clinical and biochemical features in pregnancy. The proportion of patients with primary adrenal causes of CS is increased in pregnancy. CRH stimulation testing and inferior petrosal sinus sampling can identify patients with Cushing's disease. Surgery is a safe option for treatment in the second trimester; otherwise medical therapy may be used. Women with known adrenal insufficiency that is appropriately treated can expect to have uneventful pregnancies. Whereas a fetal/placental source of cortisol may mitigate crisis during gestation, unrecognized adrenal insufficiency may lead to maternal or fetal demise either during gestation or in the puerperium. Appropriate treatment and management of labor are reviewed.

Adrenal Gland Diseases↗

Distinguishing benign from malignant euadrenal masses.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of 131I-6-beta-iodomethylnorcholesterol (NP-59) adrenal scintigraphy in distinguishing benign from malignant euadrenal masses. DESIGN: Case series of patients with incidentally discovered unilateral, euadrenal masses. SETTING: Referral-based nuclear medicine clinics at university and affiliated Veterans Administration medical centers. PATIENTS: Consecutive sample of 119 euadrenal patients with unilateral adrenal masses discovered on computed tomographic (CT) scans for reasons other than suspected adrenal disease. INTERVENTIONS: Adrenal scintiscans done using 1 mCi of NP-59 intravenously, and gamma camera imaging 5 to 7 days later. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Mean lesion diameter was 3.3 +/- 1.9 cm (SD) (95% CI: 2.9 to 3.6 cm). In 76 patients, NP-59 uptake lateralized to the abnormal adrenal seen on CT scans (concordant imaging), and in all of these patients, a diagnosis of adenoma was made by needle-aspiration biopsy, adrenalectomy, or extended follow-up with repeat CT scans that were unchanged at 6 months or later. Twenty-six patients had absent or markedly reduced NP-59 uptake in the glands identified as abnormal on CT scans (discordant imaging). These adrenal masses proved to be metastatic malignancies in 19 patients, primary adrenal neoplasms other than adenoma in 4, and adrenal cysts in 3. Bilateral, symmetric accumulation of NP-59 was seen in 17 patients, in whom the adrenal masses were shown to be metastatic malignancies in 2, and adenomas in 6 (the lesions in these cases being 2 cm or less in diameter), and lesions not truly involving the adrenal in the rest (periadrenal metastases in 4 and pseudoadrenal masses in 5). Sensitivity was 76% (26 of 34 patients; CI, 58% to 88%); specificity, 100% (85 of 85 patients; CI, 95% to 100%), and accuracy, 93% (111 of 119 patients: CI, 88% to 98%). CONCLUSIONS: Functional NP-59 scintigraphy can be used to accurately and noninvasively characterize many euadrenal masses; concordance of CT and NP-59 scans can be used to exclude the presence of a malignancy or other space-occupying adrenal lesion.

19-Iodocholesterol↗

[Cystic degeneration of the adrenal cortex associated with hyaline membrane].

Forty-one autopsies in newborns with hyaline membrane were studied. In fourteen cases (34.1%) cystic degeneration of the outermost portion of the adrenal cortex was found. Our results differ from other studies as the lesions were observed in newborns at various gestational ages, with a higher incidence in the group of pre-term babies, small for their gestational age. The constant association of hyaline membrane and adrenal cortex cystic degeneration seem to suggest that both processes may share a common etiopathogenic mechanism, namely hypoxia followed by increased ACTH secretion.

Adrenal Gland Diseases↗