Clinical evaluation should guide those needing immediate investigation. Strict adherence to COVID-19 protection measures is necessary. Alternative ways of consultations (telephone, video) should be used. Early discussion with regional/national experts about investigation and management of potential and existing patients is strongly encouraged. Patients with moderate or severe clinical features need urgent investigation and management. Patients with active Cushing’s syndrome, especially when severe, are immunocompromised and vigorous adherence to the principles of social isolation is recommended. In patients with mild features or in whom a diagnosis is less likely, clinical re-evaluation should be repeated at 3 and 6 months or deferred until the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 has significantly decreased; however, those individuals should be encouraged to maintain social distancing. Diagnostic pathways may need to be very different from usual recommendations in order to reduce possible exposure to SARS-CoV-2. When extensive differential diagnostic testing and/or surgery is not feasible, it should be deferred and medical treatment should be initiated. Transsphenoidal pituitary surgery should be delayed during high SARS-CoV-2 viral prevalence. Medical management rather than surgery will be the used for most patients, since the short- to mid-term prognosis depends in most cases on hypercortisolism rather than its cause; it should be initiated promptly to minimize the risk of infection in these immunosuppressed patients. The risk/benefit ratio of these recommendations will need re-evaluation every 2–3 months from April 2020 in each country (and possibly local areas) and will depend on the local health care structure and phase of pandemic.
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John Newell-Price, Lynnette K Nieman, Martin Reincke, and Antoine Tabarin
Jacques W M Lenders, Tracy Ann Williams, Martin Reincke, and Celso E Gomez-Sanchez
Since the early 1980s 18-hydroxycortisol and 18-oxocortisol have attracted attention when it was shown that the urinary excretion of these hybrid steroids was increased in primary aldosteronism. The development and more widespread use of specific assays has improved the understanding of their role in the (patho)physiology of adrenal disorders. The adrenal site of synthesis is not fully understood although it is clear that for the synthesis of 18-hydroxycortisol and 18-oxocortisol the action of both aldosterone synthase (zona glomerulosa) and 17α-hydroxylase (zona fasciculata) is required with cortisol as main substrate. The major physiological regulator is ACTH and the biological activity of both steroids is very low and therefore only very high concentrations might be effective in vivo. In healthy subjects, the secretion of both steroids is low with 18-hydroxycortisol being substantially higher than that of 18-oxocortisol. The highest secretion of both steroids has been found in familial hyperaldosteronism type 1 (glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism) and in familial hyperaldosteronism type 3. Lower but yet substantially increased secretion is found in patients with aldosterone-producing adenomas in contrast to bilateral hyperplasia in whom the levels are similar to patients with hypertension. Several studies have attempted to show that these steroids, in particular, peripheral venous plasma 18-oxocortisol, might be a useful discriminatory biomarker for subtyping PA patients. The current available limited evidence precludes the use of these steroids for subtyping. We review the biosynthesis, regulation and function of 18-hydroxycortisol and 18-oxocortisol and their potential utility for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of patients with primary aldosteronism.
Juergen Honegger, Sanna Zimmermann, Tsambika Psaras, Manfred Petrick, Michel Mittelbronn, Ulrike Ernemann, Martin Reincke, and Klaus Dietz
Objective
Recent observational studies have established progression and recurrence rates of pituitary adenomas. However, it is still unknown how individual pituitary adenomas grow over years and whether growth kinetics follow a distinct growth model. The objective of this study was to define a growth model for non-functioning pituitary adenomas.
Methods
Fifteen patients who had five or more serial high-quality examinations with magnetic resonance images or computerized tomography scans were identified among 216 patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas. Tumour volumes were assessed using a stereological method based on the Cavalieri principle. Tumour growth during the observation period was analysed and different growth models were fitted to the data.
Results
Fifteen pituitary adenomas (12 recurrent tumours and 3 newly diagnosed tumours) were longitudinally observed during a median observation period of 7.4 years (range: 2.3–11.9 years). Growth kinetics could be described either by an exponential growth model (nine patients) or by a logistic model (five patients) with initial exponential growth followed by deceleration of growth. One tumour remained unchanged in size during the observation period. None of the adenomas showed accelerated growth during the observation period. Overall, the linear growth model was not suitable to describe the growth kinetics of non-functioning pituitary adenomas.
Conclusions
Our study shows that growth of pituitary adenomas can be described by distinct growth models. Knowledge of growth dynamics has implications for clinical practice and helps to adjust scanning protocols for follow-up investigations.
Caroline Schirpenbach, Lysann Seiler, Christiane Maser-Gluth, Frank Rüdiger, Christian Nickel, Felix Beuschlein, and Martin Reincke
Objective: Primary aldosteronism has recently been recognized as the most frequent cause of secondary hypertension. Since most patients are normokalaemic, differentiation to essential hypertension is challenging. As differentiation by baseline aldosterone/renin ratio may be insufficient, diagnosis should be confirmed by additional tests. However, as most confirmatory tests have been evaluated in hypokalaemic primary aldosteronism only, we reassessed the value of the saline infusion test and 24 h urinary aldosterone metabolites as confirmatory tests for both normo- and hypokalaemic primary aldosteronism under current antihypertensive medication.
Patients and methods: 25 patients with primary aldosteronism (11 hypokalaemic, 14 normokalaemic), 29 patients with essential hypertension and 47 normotensive subjects were studied. The hypertensives received their usual medication with the exception of spironolactone. All subjects underwent a standard saline infusion test (determination of plasma aldosterone before and after 2.0 liters of isotonic saline for 4 hours i.v.) and collected a 24 h urine sample for examination of urinary tetrahydroaldosterone and aldosterone-18-glucuronide.
Results: In hypokalaemic primary aldosteronism the saline infusion test showed a reasonable sensitivity (91%) and specificity (90%). However, the test failed to differentiate sufficiently between essential hypertension and normokalaemic primary aldosteronism (sensitivity 57%, specificity 90%). Similarly, urinary tetrahydroaldosterone had higher sensitivity in hypokalaemic than in normokalaemic primary aldosteronism (sensitivity 64% vs 36%, specificity 100%), whereas for aldosterone-18-glucuronide, no differences in hypo- and normokalaemic primary aldosteronism were found (sensitivity 45% and 43%, specificity 100%).
Conclusions: These data show that the saline infusion test as an established test in classical hypokalaemic primary aldosteronism is not a reliable test in the normokalaemic variant of the disease. Due to its low accuracy, determination of urinary aldosterone metabolites did not prove useful in confirming either normo- or hypokalaemic patients. We conclude from our data that these tests should not be used as confirmatory testing in the normokalaemic variant of primary aldosteronism.
Oliver Zwermann, Felix Beuschlein, Enzo Lalli, Albrecht Klink, Paolo Sassone-Corsi, and Martin Reincke
Background: The ACTH receptor (ACTH-R) is a member of the seven transmembrane domain receptor super-family. In non-functional adrenal adenomas and adrenocortical carcinomas, ACTH-R expression is low. However, no inhibitory factor for ACTH-R expression has been defined to date. DAX-1 (dosage-sensitive sex reversal, adrenal hypoplasia congenita, critical region on the X chromosome, gene-1) is a general repressor of steroid production, inhibiting steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1)-dependent expression of multiple steroidogenic enzymes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether ACTH-R gene transcription is affected by DAX-1 and whether this mechanism is involved in down-regulation of ACTH-R expression in adrenocortical tumors.
Methods: We screened 22 adrenocortical tumors for ACTH-R and DAX-1 mRNA expression by Northern blot. For in vitro analyses we co-transfected mouse Y1 adrenocortical carcinoma cells with the luciferase reporter gene vector pGL3 containing full-length constructs of human (h) or mouse (m) ACTH-R promoter together with a DAX-1 expression plasmid. These experiments were also performed using ACTH-R promoter 5′-deletion constructs and constructs mutated at the SF-1-binding sites.
Results: We found a negative correlation between DAX-1 and ACTH-R mRNA expression (R = −0.47, P < 0.02). Accordingly, in vitro expression of DAX-1 significantly reduced hACTH-R and mACTH-R promoter activity by 89 and 55% respectively. DAX-1 inhibition was also present in the shortest construct of a series of 5′-deletion constructs of the human promoter extending from −64 to +40 bp relative to the transcription start site. Mutation of the SF-1-binding sites within the hACTH-R promoter resulted in reduced or abolished DAX-1 inhibition, arguing for a mechanism that involves SF-1 for DAX-1 inhibition.
Conclusions: These data support the concept that DAX-1 is a major repressor of ACTH-R gene expression in vitro and in vivo.
Matthias J Betz, Christoph Degenhart, Evelyn Fischer, Anna Pallauf, Volker Brand, Ulrich Linsenmaier, Felix Beuschlein, Martin Bidlingmaier, and Martin Reincke
Objective
Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is considered the gold standard in the differential diagnosis of primary aldosteronism (PA), but success rates vary between centers. We hypothesized that rapid (intraprocedure) cortisol measurement can improve performance in a center with initially low AVS success rate.
Design
We analyzed 46 patients with confirmed PA studied between 2008 and 2010. Forty-seven PA patients studied between 2004 and 2008 identified by retrospective chart review served as controls. All patients were treated at a single tertiary care university hospital.
Methods
Starting in 2008, rapid cortisol assays (RCA) were performed in all patients during the AVS procedure. A cortisol gradient of ≥2.0 between adrenal vein and a femoral vein sample was used as success criterion. Up to two repeat samples were drawn if adrenal vein cortisol was below this threshold.
Results
During the control period 26 of 47 AVS were successful (55%). After introduction of RCA, 39 out of 46 AVS (85%) were successful (P=0.003). In 21 of the 46 cases (46%) a resampling was necessary. The increase in overall success was due to an increase in successful right AVS (85 vs 62% before introduction of RCA; P=0.02) and a training effect (P=0.024 for trend).
Conclusion
RCA during AVS are useful in centers with an initially low AVS success rate.
Andrea Oßwald, Evelyn Fischer, Christoph Degenhart, Marcus Quinkler, Martin Bidlingmaier, Anna Pallauf, Katharina Lang, Thomas Mussack, Klaus Hallfeldt, Felix Beuschlein, and Martin Reincke
Objective
Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is a technically demanding procedure required for the identification of suitable candidates for unilateral adrenalectomy in primary aldosteronism. Recently, somatic KCNJ5 K+-channel mutations in aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) patients have been shown to influence steroid gradients during AVS. These and other recently identified genetic modifiers (ATP1A1 and ATP2B3) might affect the final diagnosis and treatment of the affected patients.
Design
Fifty-nine patients with APAs who had undergone successful AVS (adrenal vein cortisol:peripheral cortisol ratio ≥2) and had undergone a mutation analysis of their tumor tissue were studied. The mutation status of the APAs was as follows: 19 KCNJ5 mutations, eight ATPase mutations (five ATP1A1 and three ATP2B3), and 32 patients with none of these mutations.
Methods
The lateralization index (ratio of aldosterone:cortisol on the side of the adenoma to aldosterone to cortisol on the contralateral side) and the contralateral suppression index (ratio of aldosterone:cortisol on the contralateral side to aldosterone to cortisol in the periphery) were calculated for the KCNJ5-mutated, ATPase-mutated, and the KCNJ5/ATPase mutation-negative APA patients.
Results
The lateralization indices of the ATPase mutation carriers had a median of 19.9 compared with a median of 16.0 in the KCNJ5 mutation carriers and that of 20.5 in the KCNJ5/ATPase mutation-negative patients. The contralateral suppression indices of the ATPase-mutated patients had a median of 0.1 compared with a median of 0.4 in the KCNJ5 mutation carriers and that of 0.2 in the KCNJ5/ATPase mutation-negative patients. The differences between the genetic groups were not statistically significant.
Conclusions
We did not find evidence for a clinically important impact of mutation status on steroid gradients during AVS.
Robert Kopetschke, Mario Slisko, Aylin Kilisli, Ulrich Tuschy, Henri Wallaschofski, Martin Fassnacht, Manfred Ventz, Felix Beuschlein, Martin Reincke, Nicole Reisch, and Marcus Quinkler
Context
Adrenal and extra-adrenal phaeochromocytoma are chromaffin cell-derived tumours that are discovered due to classical symptom triad with headache, sweating and palpitations combined with persistent or paroxysmal hypertension. However, an increasing proportion of phaeochromocytoma seems to be discovered incidentally upon abdominal imaging.
Objective
To specify the exact circumstances of discovery of adrenal and extra-adrenal phaeochromocytoma.
Design and patients
Four German endocrine centres participated in this retrospective study. Medical records of 201 patients with adrenal and extra-adrenal phaeochromocytoma who were diagnosed between 1973 and 2007 were analyzed.
Results
The typical triad of symptoms was found only in 10% of cases. Ten percent of patients presented were without clinical symptoms and 6.1% were normotensive. Documented blood pressure peaks occurred in 44.1% of cases. In 24 patients (12.2%), phaeochromocytoma was malignant. Before 1985, <10% of cases were incidentally discovered, whereas thereafter the frequency was >25% (29.4% of the total study population). Patients with incidentally detected phaeochromocytoma were significantly older (53.1±1.9 vs 47.0±1.3 years; P<0.05) and often had less blood pressure peaks (37.0 vs 70.7%; P<0.001) than patients in whom the diagnosis was suspected on clinical grounds. Of phaeochromocytomas 94.4% were intra-adrenal tumours, of which 12.9% were bilateral. Bilateral tumours were significantly smaller than unilateral tumours (36.6±14.7 vs 52.5±34.3 mm; P<0.05), whereas extra-adrenal tumours had a mean diameter of 52.6±28.7 mm.
Conclusions
Owing to better availability and accessibility of imaging procedures, the number of incidentally discovered phaeochromocytoma is increasing and reaches nearly 30% in our study population. Every adrenal incidentaloma should be investigated for the presence of phaeochromocytoma.
Katrin Ritzel, Felix Beuschlein, Christina Berr, Andrea Osswald, Nicole Reisch, Martin Bidlingmaier, Harald Schneider, Jürgen Honegger, Lucas L. Geyer, Jochen Schopohl, and Martin Reincke
Objective
The aim of the present study was to validate criteria of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) stimulation and 8 mg dexamethasone suppression (high-dose dexamethasone suppression, HDDS) to distinguish the etiology of ACTH-dependent Cushing's syndrome.
Subjects and methods
We retrospectively analyzed cortisol and ACTH after the injection of 100 μg human CRH in confirmed Cushing's disease (CD, n=78) and confirmed ectopic Cushing's syndrome (ECS, n=18). Cortisol and ACTH increase (in percentage above basal (%B)) at each time point, maximal increase (Δmax %B), and area under the curve (AUC %B) were analyzed using receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve analyses. Cortisol suppression (%B) after 8 mg of dexamethasone was evaluated as a supplementary criterion.
Results
An increase in ACTH of ≥43%B at 15 min after CRH was the strongest predictor of CD, with a positive likelihood ratio of 14.0, a sensitivity of 83%, a specificity of 94%, a positive predictive value of 98% and a negative predictive value of 58%. All of the other criteria of stimulated ACTH and cortisol levels were not superior in predicting CD in response to CRH injection. The addition of cortisol suppression by dexamethasone did not increase the discriminatory power. However, the combination of a positive ACTH response at 15 min and a positive HDDS test excluded ECS in all cases.
Conclusion
The present findings support the use of plasma ACTH levels 15 min after the injection of human CRH as a response criterion for distinguishing between CD and ECS. The addition of the HDDS test is helpful for excluding ECS when both tests are positive.
Andrea Osswald, Timo Deutschbein, Christina M Berr, Eva Plomer, Anne Mickisch, Katrin Ritzel, Jochen Schopohl, Felix Beuschlein, Martin Fassnacht, Stefanie Hahner, and Martin Reincke
Objective
Aim of our study was to analyze long-term outcome of patients with the ectopic Cushing’s syndrome (ECS) compared to patients with Cushing’s disease (CD) regarding cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal and psychiatric comorbidities.
Design
Cross-sectional study in patients with ECS and CD in two German academic tertiary care centers.
Methods
Standardized clinical follow-up examination was performed including health-related quality of life (QoL) in 21 ECS patients in long-term remission (≥18 months since successful surgery). Fifty-nine patients with CD in remission served as controls.
Results
Time from first symptoms to diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome (CS) was shorter in ECS than in CD (8.5 (IQR: 30.3) vs 25 (IQR: 39.0) months, P = 0.050). ECS patients had lower self-reported psychiatric morbidity compared to CD (19% vs 43%, P = 0.050) at follow-up. Moreover, female ECS patients reported favorable scores for QoL in the SF-36 questionnaire (mental health: 92 (IQR: 30) vs 64 (IQR: 32) in CD, P = 0.010) and a Cushing-specific QoL questionnaire (73 (IQR: 18) vs 59 (IQR: 36) in CD, P = 0.030). In a pooled analysis of ECS and CD patients, QoL correlated with time from first symptoms until diagnosis of CS, but not with urinary free cortisol levels or serum cortisol after dexamethasone at the time of diagnosis. Long-term outcomes regarding hypertension, metabolic parameters, bone mineral density and grip strength were comparable in ECS and CD.
Conclusions
Our data support the concept that time of exposure to glucocorticoid excess appears to be a better predictor than peak serum cortisol levels at the time of diagnosis regarding long-term psychiatric morbidity and QoL.