Recurrent hyperaldosteronism and hypertension post adrenalectomy (author's transl)]

Primary Aldosteronism may be due to adenoma or hyperplastic adrenals. Such a distinction can be obtained from biochemical studies. In our observation, a man with recurrent aldosteronism after right adrenalectomy was studied. Radiological and surgical data might indicate an adenoma. This opinion was modified by pathological studies. This absence of capsule and the presence of microadenomatous hyperplastic lesions indicated pseudo-adenomatous hyperplastic glands. On the other hand, high blood pressure remained after adrenalectomy. A treatment with beta-blocking substances corrected this hypertension.     

Carcinoid heart disease. Report of a case with triple valvular lesion (author's transl)]

A case of carcinoid syndrome, stemming from a tumor of the large intestine with hepatic metastases, is reported. Clinical features included cardiac disease with triple valvular lesion: tricuspid insufficiency with stenosis, pulmonary artery stenosis and mitral insufficiency. More recent views about the pathogenesis of the cardiac involvement in the carcinoid syndrome are reported, and the cardiac therapy is discussed.     

Report of a family with Holt-Oram syndrome (author's transl)]

Report of a family where the typical symptomatology of Holt-Oram syndrome can be documented over three generations. Holt-Oram syndrome is an autosomal-dominantly inherited disease, characterized by cardiac malformation, mainly septal defects, av-conduction disturbances, malformations of the upper limbs, mainly the radial ray and sometimes by vascular hypoplasia. According to the literature, these symptoms can be seen in variable expressivity in the family reported. Differential diagnosis of the entity and genetic counsel of symptomatic patients and their normal relatives are discussed.     

Primary hyperaldosteronism due to bilateral adrenal hyperplasia of the adrenals. Study based upon one case and a review of the literature (author's transl)]

The authors report the case of a 41-year-old man suffering from primary hyperaldosteronism due to bilateral adrenal hyperplasia, predominantly on the left. This condition is somewhat less common than Conn's adenoma and differs distinctly on the basis of a very poor response to surgical treatment. It can generally be diagnosed by non-invasive techniques, the most reliable of which are the postural test and adrenal isotope scan under inhibition with dexamethasone. These methods are nevertheless not always valuable in the presence of certain forms of hyperplasia which are less distinct from an anatomical standpoint, and must then be complemented by adrenal phlebography and estimation of aldosterone in adrenal venous blood or, if this proves impossible, in the inferior vena cava and renal veins.     

Diagnosis of primary osteoporosis (author's transl)]

The diagnosis of osteoporosis is usually based on the presence of hypertransparent radiological images of the spinal column with vertebral collapse, when other relatively rare causes (mainly myeloma) have been excluded. One recognized, other etiological factors have to be discarded, especially cortisone therapy, before diagnosing primary osteoporosis in patients over 55 years of age in whom it is more frequently present in women (post-menopausal osteoporosis). Various indices of the amount of bone present in the limbs and pelvis can be used to assess the proportion lost with age, but these give only incomplete information on the degree of vertebral osteoporosis.