RESUMO
AIM: To study clinical and laboratory manifestations of hormonal activity in hypertensive patients with undifferentiated adrenal tumors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 40 patients (19 males and 21 females aged 16-60 years) with undifferentiated adrenal tumors were examined. They were treated surgically. The results of the examination were compared with histological evidence on the resected adrenals. Clinical and laboratory signs of hormonal activity of the tumor were ascertained. RESULTS: Clinical symptoms in patients with adrenal tumors differed from those of typical symptoms of Icenko-Cushing, Cohn syndromes, pheochromocytoma. Hypertension in patients with cortical tumor may arise because of high synthesis of hydrocortisone, in patients with medullary tumor--of catecholamines. However, the level of hormones was not high enough for development of classic syndromes. That's why these tumors were named undifferentiated. CONCLUSION: Adrenal cortical tumors have signs of mixed androgeno-mineral-glucocorticoid activity. In medullary adrenal tumors hypersecretion of catecholamines is associated with cortical hyperfunction.
