Primary aldosteronism and other steroid-related causes of endocrine hypertension
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780199235292.003.0570
Mineralocorticoid hypertension is characterized by increased distal renal tubular sodium reabsorption, raised body sodium content, plasma volume expansion, markedly reduced body potassium content, with a metabolic alkalosis and suppression of renin production by the juxtaglomerular cells of the kidney (and correspondingly low levels of angiotensin II). Primary aldosteronism is the most common cause of mineralocorticoid hypertension (1); less frequent causes include the rare inborn errors of adrenal steroid synthesis (11β-hydroxylase and 17α-hydroxylase deficiency), alterations in corticosteroid metabolism (syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess), and constitutive activation of the epithelial sodium channel (Liddle’s syndrome).
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