Eccrine sweat gland sensitivity to catecholamines in patients with pheochromocytoma and primary aldosteronism

The sensitivity of the eccrine sweat glands to adrenaline and noradrenaline was examined in 9 patients with pheochromocytoma and 12 patients with primary aldosteronism by Wada's method for determining threshold concentrations of local sweat response to intradermal injection. In pheochromocytoma most of the patients characteristically showed considerably reduced sensitivity to catecholamines in the sweat glands. Sensitivity was rapidly restored after the extirpation of the tumor in all cases. In primary aldosteronism the sweat gland sensitivity varied over a very wide range from subnormal to supernormal levels. These were restored to normal range after extirpation of the adrenocortical adenoma. In both diseases it was found that the sensitivity of the sweat glands to catecholamines and the vascular system to noradrenaline altered almost in parallel.