PubMed · 5820170
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1969-09-15. Corticosteroids and adrenal function.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5820170/
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OBJECTIVE: Incidentally discovered adrenal masses are fairly common, although there are some controversies concerning the results of hormonal investigation (especially DHEAS values) and the methods of management. We summarize our experience in diagnosis, pathological findings and treatment of a large group of patients with incidentally found adrenal tumours. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Our study included patients referred to the Department of Endocrinology of the Centre of Post-graduate Medical Education (Warsaw, Poland) during the last 10 years because of an adrenal tumour incidentally found on ultrasound scan. In all cases this was confirmed by computed tomography. There were 208 patients (148 female and 60 male), 14-76 years old. Unilateral adrenal masses were found in 172 patients (right 106, left 66), while bilateral masses were demonstrated in 36 patients. The size of the tumours ranged between 0.8 and 21.0 cm. The most common clinical abnormalities were hypertension (36 cases), obesity (23 cases), diabetes (8 cases), Addison's disease (6 cases). MEASUREMENTS: Endocrine tests evaluating pituitary-adrenal function (urinary excretion of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids, 17-ketosteroids and catecholamines, plasma concentrations of ACTH, cortisol, DHEAS, androstendione and testosterone, dexamethasone suppression test and corticotrophin-releasing hormone stimulation test). RESULTS: Cortisol hypersecretion was noted in two patients with coexisting Cushing's disease and high normal 17-OHCS values with lack of dexamethasone suppressibility were found in six other patients with pre-clinical Cushing's syndrome. More common were subtle hormonal abnormalities: low ACTH levels (in 33 out of 98 investigated patients), diminished dexamethasone suppressibility and lack of ACTH response in the CRH test (in two out of 12 patients). Urinary catecholamine excretion was elevated in nine patients. In the group of 85 patients treated by surgery the most frequent pathological findings were: adrenocortical adenoma (21), carcinoma (17), phaeochromocytoma (13), metastatic masses (12) and myelolipoma (10). The size of carcinomas ranged from 3.2 to 20.0 cm, while the size of non-malignant tumours ranged from 1.5 to 21.0 cm. CONCLUSIONS: Every patient with an incidentally discovered adrenal mass has to be investigated to detect malignancy and subtle hormonal overproduction, to select the cases for surgical treatment. Most of the adrenocortical carcinomas were > 7.0 cm in diameter. For prophylactic purposes, adrenal incidentalomas > 4.0 cm should be treated by surgery, while the smaller ones could be followed-up (with special care for those between 3.0 and 4.0 cm).
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Late-onset 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD) is a congenital enzymatic defect in the glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid steroidogenic pathways. The manifestations, including hirsutism and infertility, usually occur at puberty or young adulthood. In infertile, anovulatory women with late-onset 21-OHD, the usual therapy is glucocorticoids for ovulation induction. In this case, we report the sole use of clomiphene citrate to induce ovulation in a patient with late-onset 21-OHD. A hirsute and oligomenorrheic woman was diagnosed as having polycystic ovary syndrome at age 25. Her hirsutism responded to oral contraceptives. At age 31, she was given clomiphene citrate alone for ovulation induction and conceived in her fourth cycle. At age 36, because of increased hirsutism she was diagnosed with late-onset 21-OHD by an ACTH stimulation test. The induction of ovulation in late-onset 21-OHD patients has been with glucocorticoids. Given the success in inducing ovulation with clomiphene citrate alone in this patient with well-documented late-onset 21-OHD, it may be worthwhile to study the sole use of clomiphene citrate for ovulation induction in these patients.