Reninoma: case report and literature review.

Reninoma is a tumor of the renal juxtaglomerular cell apparatus that causes hypertension and hypokalemia via hypersecretion of renin. We describe a case of reninoma and provide a review of the literature, with a discussion emphasizing the diagnostic evaluation for such patients. The subject had persistent elevation of both plasma renin activity (PRA) and aldosterone. Imaging studies revealed the presence of a lesion in the renal cortex, which was further identified as a renin-producing lesion via selective venous catheterization following administration of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I). Following partial nephrectomy, the PRA and plasma aldosterone levels declined rapidly and the blood pressure and potassium supplementation requirements normalized. This case demonstrates the utility of both appropriate imaging studies and selective venous catheterization following provocative administration of an ACE-I for diagnosis.

Hepatitis C virus infection, Linxian, China.

Bloodborne viruses may have spread in rural China during the past 25 years, but population-based prevalence estimates are lacking. We examined the frequency of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV type 1 (HIV-1) among residents of Linxian, a rural community in Henan Province. In 2000, blood was collected from participants (> or = 55 years of age) who had enrolled in a population-based nutritional intervention trial in 1985. We randomly selected 500 participants for HCV testing and 200 participants for HIV-1 testing. For HCV, 48 (9.6%) of 500 participants were positive by enzyme immunoassay and recombinant immunoblot assay (95% confidence interval, 7.0%-12.2%), and prevalence was lowest in the most geographically isolated participants. Among the HCV-infected participants, 42 had a specimen available from 1985, of which 16 (38.1%) were positive for HCV. For HIV-1, 0/200 participants were positive. We conclude that HCV is now a common infection among older adults in Linxian, China.