ABSTRACT Objective: Genetic abnormalities in ion channels that regulate the depolarization of adrenal glomerular cell plasma membranes have been identified as a cause of primary aldosteronism (PA) due to aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA). This study aimed to evaluate somatic variants in the KCNJ5, CACNA1D, CLCN2, ATP1A1, ATP2B3, GNAQ, GNA11, and CTNNB1 genes, assess the genotype-phenotype correlation, and analyze the outcomes in patients with APA from a heterogenic ethnic population. Subjects and methods: Clinical, biochemical, and molecular data were obtained from 32 […]

Abstract Objective: Population-based data on the surgical treatment of adrenal diseases in Brazil remain limited. Therefore, this retrospective cohort study aimed to characterize patients treated within the Brazilian public health system who underwent adrenalectomy over the past 15 years. Materials and methods: Records of adrenalectomies from the Sistema Único de Saúde (Datasus) database were analyzed from January 2008 to December 2022. Descriptive demographic information was evaluated using incidence rates. Clinical, therapeutic, and mortality data were compared according to hospital procedure […]

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the modulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) on prolactin secretion in rats after adrenalectomy (ADX). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Plasma corticosterone, ACTH, and prolactin concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in rats after bilateral ADX in the short- (3 hours and 1day) and long-term (3, 7, and 14 days). RESULTS: Animals that underwent ADX showed undetectable corticosterone levels and a triphasic ACTH response with a transient increase (3h), a decrease (1d), and further increase in the long-term after ADX. […]

Leiomyosarcoma of adrenal gland is an extremely rare tumor originating from the central adrenal vein or its tributaries. Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Epstein-Barr infection have a higher incidence of these tumors, but even in those, the overall incidence is very low. In this paper we report a case of a 48 year-old woman whose diagnosis was made by image exams that had suggested a mass in adrenal area. This patient was submitted to surgery for resection of […]

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is one of the most clinically important advances in the past 2 decades for the treatment of adrenal disorders. When compared to open adrenalectomy, laparoscopic adrenalectomy is equally safe, effective, and curative; it is more successful in shortening hospitalization and convalescence and has less long-term morbidity. The laparoscopic approach to the adrenal is the procedure of choice for the surgical management of cortisol-producing adenomas and for patients with corticotropin (ACTH) dependent Cushing’s syndrome for whom surgery failed to […]

The aim of this article is to present and discuss several aspects of the pathogenesis, the clinical, hormonal, and imaging diagnosis, and the treatment of Nelson’s syndrome, based on a typical patient’s report, in whom several therapeutic approaches were shown to be ineffective.

Cushing’s syndrome (CS) due to ectopic ACTH secretion has a high morbidity and mortality. Thus, rapid treatment of ectopic CS is mandatory. Carcinoid tumors associated with ectopic ACTH (CTu-ACTH) syndrome represent a more severe clinical picture, due to the carcinoid symptoms that worsen the hypercortisolism state. Management of patients with CTu-ACTH should include the control of hypercortisolism, as well as the carcinoid disturbance. We report 3 patients (2F, 1M) with CTu-ACTH (2 pancreatic, 1 ocult) who presented with clinical manifestations […]

INTRODUCTION: The laparoscopic approach to the adrenal gland was first reported in 1992. Since then, many publications about this issue have come from Europe, Japan and North America. We reviewed our 10-year experience with laparoscopic adrenal surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy was carried out in 113 patients, 77 females and 36 males, between January 1994 and January 2004. The age ranged from 1 to 76 years (43.1 ± 16.2 years). Ten (8.8%) patients were 20 years old or younger, […]