title: Plasma and salivary 6beta-hydroxycortisol measurements for assessing adrenocortical activity in patients with adrenocortical adenomas.
abstract: The aim of this study was to examine and compare the potential usefulness of plasma and salivary 6beta-hydroxycortisol measurements for assessing adrenocortical activity in patients with adrenocortical adenomas. Plasma and salivary cortisol as well as 6beta-hydroxycortisol determinations were performed by radioimmunoassay after extraction with ethyl acetate followed by chromatographic separation using a modified paper chromatographic system. Samples were obtained from 36 control subjects and 37 patients with non-hyperfunctioning adrenocortical adenomas in the morning at 8 a.m. after a low-dose of dexamethasone and after stimulation with synthetic depot ACTH. Basal and post-dexamethasone hormone levels were also measured in plasma and salivary samples of 4 patients with Cushing's syndrome from adrenal adenomas. In the baseline state, patients with non-hyperfunctioning adrenocortical adenomas had significantly higher plasma and salivary 6beta-hydroxycortisol levels (mean+/-SE, 79.0+/-7 and 17.1+/-2.2 ng/dl, respectively) compared to those measured in controls (62.0+/-4 and 7.7+/-0.6 ng/dl, respectively), whereas baseline plasma and salivary cortisol levels (9.6+/-0.5 microg/dl and 342+/-39 ng/dl, respectively) were similar to those measured in the control group (9.9+/-0.4 microg/dl and 366+/-24 ng/dl, respectively). In all groups, the changes in plasma and salivary 6beta-hydroxycortisol concentrations after dexamethasone suppression and ACTH stimulation were similar to the changes in plasma and salivary cortisol levels, although the differing ratios of 6betaOHF to cortisol indicated potentially important variations in the induction of 6beta-hydroxylase activity between the three groups. In patients with Cushing's syndrome, baseline plasma and salivary 6beta-hydroxycortisol concentrations (754+/-444 and 104+/-88 ng/dl, respectively) were more markedly increased than plasma and salivary cortisol levels (24.8+/-6.7 microg/dl and 1100+/-184 ng/dl, respectively), and all remained non-suppressible after dexamethasone administration. These results suggests that plasma and salivary 6beta-hydroxycortisol determinations may precisely detect not only overt increases of cortisol secretion in patients with Cushing's syndrome but also mild glucocorticoid overproduction presumably present in patients with non-hyperfunctioning adrenocortical tumors.
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterological and Endocrinological Research Group, 2nd Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Varga
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jakab
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Szücs
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patócs
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tóth
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kiss
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gláz
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rácz
mesh_terms: D000306:Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D018246:Adrenocortical Adenoma / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D003480:Cushing Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000378:metabolism*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; C001380:6 beta-hydroxycortisol; D003907:Dexamethasone; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone