Conn's syndrome is overproduction of the mineralocorticoid hormone aldosterone by the adrenal glands. Aldosterone causes sodium and water retention and potassium excretion in the kidneys, leading to arterial hypertension (high blood pressure). It is a rare but recognised cause of nonessential hypertension. It is named after Dr Jerome W. Conn (1907-1981), the American endocrinologist who first described the condition in 1955. It is the most common form of primary Hyperaldosteronism. The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) is a domain specific extension of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems for tumor diseases. ... The Mendelian Inheritance in Man project is a database that catalogues all the known diseases with a genetic component, and - when possible - links them to the relevant genes in the human genome. ... The Diseases Database is a free website that provides information about the relationships between medical conditions, symptoms, and medications. ... MedlinePlus (medlineplus. ... eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base that was founded in 1996. ... Mineralocorticoids is a class of steroids characterised by their similarity to aldosterone and their influence on salt and water metabolism. ... A hormone (from Greek horman - to set in motion) is a chemical messenger from one cell (or group of cells) to another. ... Aldosterone is a steroid hormone synthesized from cholesterol by the enzyme aldosterone synthase. ... Grays Fig. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sodium, Na, 11 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 22. ... General Name, Symbol, Number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 39. ... Human kidneys viewed from behind with spine removed The kidneys are bean-shaped excretory organs in vertebrates. ... Arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure is a medical condition where the blood pressure is chronically elevated. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Signs, symptoms and findings

Apart from high blood pressure, the symptoms may include muscle cramps and headaches (due to the low potassium), metabolic alkalosis (due to increased secretion of H+ ions by the kidney). The high pH of the blood makes calcium less available to the tissues and causes symptoms of hypocalcemia (low calcium levels). Myalgia means muscle pain and is a symptom of many diseases and disorders. ... A headache (medically known as cephalgia) is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head; sometimes upper back or neck pain may also be interpreted as a headache. ... Alkalosis refers to a condition reducing hydrogen ion concentration of arterial blood plasma. ... PH or ph or pH or Ph may be: pH, a measure of acidity (chemistry) Ph, a phenyl ring (organic chemistry) PH, the ISO country code of the Philippines (see . ... Calcium plays a vital role in the anatomy, physiology and biochemistry of organisms and of the cell, particularly in signal transduction pathways. ... In medicine, hypocalcaemia is the presence of less than a total calcium of 2. ...

It can be mimicked by liquorice ingestion (glycyrrhizin) and Liddle syndrome. Binomial name Glycyrrhiza glabra L. Liquorice (Br. ... Glycyrrhizin, glycyrrhizinic acid or glycyrrhizic acid, is the active principle of liquorice root. ... Liddles Syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder that mimics hyperaldosteronism. ...

Diagnosis

Measuring aldosterone alone is not considered adequate to diagnose Conn's syndrome. Rather, both renin and aldosterone are measured, and the ratio is diagnostic. Usually, renin levels are suppressed, leading to a very low renin-aldosterone ratio (<0.05). This test is confounded by antihypertensive drugs, which have to be stopped up to 6 weeks. Renin, also known as angiotensinogenase, is a circulating enzyme (EC 3. ...

If there is biochemic proof of hyperaldosteronism, CT scanning can confirm the presence of an adrenal adenoma. CT apparatus in a hospital Computed axial tomography (CAT), computer-assisted tomography, computed tomography, CT, or body section roentgenography is the process of using digital processing to generate a three-dimensional image of the internals of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around...

Causes

The syndrome is due to:

• adenoma (benign tumor, 50-60%)
• hyperplasia of the adrenal gland (40-50%)
• rare forms

Adenoma refers to a collection of growths (-oma) of glandular origin. ... Hyperplasia (or hypergenesis) is a general term for an abnormal increase in the amount of the cells of an organ or tissue causing it to increase in size. ...

Therapy

Surgical removal of the offending adrenal (adrenalectomy) takes away the source of the excess hormones. Meanwhile, the blood pressure can be controlled with spironolactone (a diuretic that counteracts the actions of aldosterone) and other antihypertensives. Adrenalectomy is the surgical removal of one or both (bilateral adrenalectomy) adrenal glands. ... Spironolactone (marketed as Aldactone or Spiritone) is a synthetic 17-lactone steroid which is a renal competitive aldosterone antagonist in a class of pharmaceuticals called potassium-sparing diuretics, used primarily to treat low-renin hypertension, hypokalemia, and Conns syndrome. ... A diuretic is any drug that elevates the rate of bodily urine excretion (diuresis). ...

Reference

• Conn JW, Louis LH. Primary aldosteronism: a new clinical entity. Trans Assoc Am Physicians 1955;68:215-31; discussion, 231-3. PMID 13299331.