The secretion of glucocorticoid hormones is tightly regulated by the circadian clock and by negative humoral feedback loops, both acting on the hypothalamic-pituitary gland-adrenal axis. However, a new study Ishida et al., 2005 [this issue of Cell Metabolism) shows that light can influence the adrenal's glucocorticoid output by a more direct pathway.

recently, a number of procedures for interventional radiology diagnosis and treatment have been developed by the radiologists. the ‘interventional radiology’ refers to the therapeutic procedures performed under imaging guidance. the emergence of this specialty has been made possible by a lot of advances in the technology, imaging systems, and radiologists experience. interventional radiologists...

There is no detailed and practical description of how to identify the adrenal glands at necropsy. A simple technique is described, based on anatomical location. After removing the aorta by the Rokitansky method, the inferior vena cava is opened. The orifice of the right adrenal vein is identified just above the right renal vein, and a probe is inserted into it as a marker. The right adrenal gla...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Schwannomas are tumors originating from Schwann cells of the peripheral nerve sheath (neurilemma) of the neuroectoderm. Rarely, schwannomas can arise from the retroperitoneum and adrenal medulla. We describe a case of a 71-y-old woman who presented with an incidentally discovered adrenal tumor. METHODS Ultrasound and computed tomography scans revealed a lesion with s...

BACKGROUND Cavernous hemangiomas of the adrenal gland are rare, benign, non-functioning neoplastic tumors. To our knowledge, 55 cases have been reported in the literature to date. CASE PRESENTATION We report the first case of a large, non-functioning adrenal cavernous hemangioma that was incidentally found during the preoperative staging workup of a 75 year old woman with left breast adenocar...

The nuclear hormone receptors liver X receptor alpha (LXRalpha) (NR1H3) and LXRbeta (NR1H2) are established regulators of cholesterol, lipid, and glucose metabolism and are attractive drug targets for the treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Adrenal steroid hormones including glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids are known to interfere with glucose metabolism, insulin signaling, a...

Primary aldosteronism is a potentially curable cause of hypertension, especially when caused by an adrenal adenoma. Aldosteronomas because of their small size often elude techniques to locate them. This case illustrates the advantages, disadvantages and complications of noninvasive techniques used for their diagnosis. A patient with hypertension and hypokalemia underwent an adrenal venous efflu...

Lymphoma may involve the adrenal glands, but primary lymphoma is rare. Only a few cases have been reported in medical literature. Primary adrenal lymphoma is extremely rare, accounting for <1% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas. We here present a case of a middle-aged female who presented with persistent fever for three weeks. She also reported significant weight loss of more than 10 kgs over the duratio...

Adrenal cysts are rare, and their clinical management remains controversial. We report a case involving an adrenal cyst with a complicated appearance on radiological studies. Unenhanced computed tomography revealed a unilocular, noncalcified, hypoattenuating mass with a thin wall in the left adrenal gland. The lesion gradually increased in size from 10 to 50mm at twoyear follow-up. On contrast-...

Diagnosis of an adrenal tumor without typical clinical signs related to hyperadrenocorticism and elevated alkaline phosphatase is challenging. This report describes a sex hormone-secreting adrenal tumor in a 10-year-old castrated male Shih Tzu evaluated through repetitive ultrasonographic examination. An adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation test revealed elevated concentrations of androstene...