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ALDOSTERONISM - 2 reference results
Hyperaldosteronism
Hyperaldosteronism, also aldosteronism, is a medical condition where too much aldosterone is produced by the adrenal glands, which can lead to lowered levels of potassium in the blood.

Types

  • : Primary hyperaldosteronism, often caused by an adrenal cortical adenoma (a tumor), is also known as Conn's syndrome.

  • : Secondary hyperaldosteronism is due to overactivity of the renin-angiotensin system.

In endocrinology, the terms primary and secondary are used to describe the abnormality (e.g. elevated aldosterone) in relation to the defect, i.e. the tumor's location. The adjective primary refers to an abnormality that directly leads to pathology, i.e. aldosteronism is caused by the apparatus that generates aldosterone. Secondary refers to an abnormality that indirectly results in pathology through a predictable physiologic pathway, i.e. a renin producing tumor leads to increased aldosterone, as the body's aldosterone production is normally regulated by renin levels.

Symptoms

It can be asymptomatic, but the following symptoms can be present

See also

Treatment

Treatment includes Spironolactone,a K+ sparing diuretic that works by acting as an aldosterone antagonist

External links

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Monday October 06, 2008 at 19:46:09 PDT (GMT -0700)
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Vitamin D deficiency in primary aldosteronism*.(Letters to the Editor)
Mar 01, 2006; To the Editor: Alterations in calcium metabolism have been reported in hypertensive patients and animal models. However, there is...
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Primary aldosteronism and secondary hyperparathyroidism of the vitamin D deficiency.(Letter to the editor)
Dec 01, 2006; To the Editor: The relationship between vitamin D, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and hypertension has been discussed in the...
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Primary Aldosteronism in 20% of Hypertension.
Aug 01, 2001; SAN FRANCISCO -- The prevalence of primary aldosteronism--a potentially curable form of secondary hypertension--approaches the...
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Caution about the overdiagnosis of primary aldosteronism
Sep 01, 2001; Montori and colleagues1 begin their article in this issue of the Proceedings by stating, "Primary aldosteronism may be more...
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Increased primary aldosteronism prevalence reflects increased screening tests.
Dec 19, 2004; 2004 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An increase in the prevalence of primary aldosteronism is reflective of the increase...
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