ACTH on aldosterone secretion in aldosteronism

Sonoyama and colleagues recently reported that high-dose ACTH stimulation in primary aldosteronism (PA) patients caused different aldosterone secretion responses in aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs) and idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA). In this study, they examined diurnal changes in plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC), and changes in PAC after dexamethasone administration in patients with suspected PA. They found that aldosterone secretion in APA patients is more strongly dependent on endogenous ACTH than in IHA and non-PA patients. The results also suggest that factors other than ACTH, such as clock genes, may cause diurnal changes in aldosterone secretion in IHA and non-PA patients.

Read the full article at Sonoyama et al. (2014) Endocrine Connections 3 173–179 DOI:10.1530/EC-14-0086