Prevalence of testicular adrenal rest tissue in neonates.
BACKGROUND
Infertility is a serious complication among male congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) patients which is often caused by testicular adrenal rest tumors (TART). TART are already present in childhood and early infancy in CAH patients. The incidence of TART in neonates without CAH has not yet been described in detail before.


OBJECTIVE
To study the prevalence of testicular adrenal rests in non-CAH neonates.


METHODS
Descriptive study.


METHODS
Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, The Netherlands.


METHODS
115 testis samples of 89 male infants without CAH who died within the neonatal period were histologically examined.


METHODS
Prevalence of adrenal rest tissue in the neonatal testes.


RESULTS
Adrenal rests were found in 4 samples (3.5%). These adrenal nodules were all located within the epididymis; only in 1 sample a nodule was found close to the rete testis but still within the caput of the epididymis. No nodules were found within the testes. Of the 4 children with adrenal rests, 3 had urological malformations.


CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of testicular adrenal rests in non-CAH neonates is low. Further studies are necessary to study the incidence of TART in CAH infants and detect typical risk factors in this patient group.
Bouman
A
A
Department of Paediatric Endocrinology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Hulsbergen-van de Kaa
C
C
Claahsen-van der Grinten
H L
HL
D000312:Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital / Q000150:complications; D000314:Adrenal Rest Tumor / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D001344:Autopsy; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013737:Testis / Q000473:pathology