Endocrine Abstracts

Aldosterone exerts numerous pleiotropic functions, notably in the kidney where it controls hydroelectrolytic homeostasis and ultimately blood pressure. Aldosterone acts by activating the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), a transcription factor that regulates target gene expression. Alteration of the mineralocorticoid signaling leads to various diseases including hypertension, cardiovascular, renal, metabolic or CNS disorders.Aldosterone mechanism of actio...

Primary aldosteronism is an endocrine form of hypertension which is highly prevalent among hypertensive population but its rate of detection is far lower than its real prevalence.This might be due to lack of adequate information or expertise in general practitioners or even among hypertension specialists, other than endocrinologists. As PA is common, and has a much higher cardiovascular risk profile than age-, sex-, and blood pressure (BP)–matched e...

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common form of secondary hypertension. In the majority of cases it is caused by unilateral aldosterone producing adenoma (APA) or by bilateral adrenal hyperplasia. Although the majority of cases of PA are sporadic, the disease may occur in the context of familial hyperaldosteronism where it is associated with specific germline mutations. Recent advances in genome technology have improved our understanding on the genetic basis of PA, allow...