Hypertension and oedema caused by cortexone hyperproduction and cured by monolateral adrenalectomy. Case report

Excess 11-deoxycorticosterone (DOC) production, mostly due to an enzyme defect 11-beta-hydroxylase, is a rare cause of secondary hypertension. Even rarer are those forms due to an adrenal adenoma or to a bilateral hyperplasia. In this paper we report the case of 23-year-old woman with excess DOC production, presenting with arterial hypertension and oedema, whom we first observed in 1961. Complete clinical remission, persisting more than 30 years later, was obtained by monolateral adrenalectomy. The literature reports of DOC-induced hypertension due to adrenal adenoma or hyperplasia are reviewed and the possible pathogenetic mechanisms are discussed.