Adrenal medullary function

Baulieu Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) a fountain of youth Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 81, 3147 (1996). 

Bomstein, C. A. Stratakis, and G. P. Chrousos Adrenocortical tumors recent advances in basic concepts and clinical management. Annals of Internal Medicine 130,759 (1999). 

Casson, S. A. Carson, and St. J. E. Buster Replacement dehydroepiandrosterone in the elderly rationale and prospects for the futnre. Endocrinologists, 187 (1998). 

Clement, C. Vaisse, B. S. J. Manning, et al. genetic variations in the adrenergic receptor and an increased capacity to gain weight in patients with morbid obesity. New England Journal of Medicine 333,352 (1995). 

Ganguly Primary aldosteronism. New England Journal of Medicine 339, 1828(1998). 

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Mescaline causes hallucinogenic effects by stimulating serotonin and dopamine receptors in the central nervous system. The sympathomimetic effects of mescaline are probably also centrally mediated. Changes in catecholamine metabolism and adrenal medullary function may be responsible for the agent s... 

Sympathetic Nervous Function, Disorders of Adrenal Medullary Function, and Genetic Disorders of Catecholamine Systems... 

Familial dysautonomia, dopamine [i-liydroxylase deficiency, norepinephrine transporter deficiency, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia include dysautonomias or conditions associated with adrenal medullary dysfunction in which the specific genetic abnormalities have been identified. There are also other disorders involving mutations of genes coding for proteins involved in catecholamine synthesis and metabolism in which the clinical manifestations do not clearly involve the sympathoadrenal systems or may be so globally severe that abnormalities of autonomic or adrenal medullary function are obscured (Table 29-5). 

It is perhaps a little surprising that improved analytical methods (e.g., high-performance liquid chromatography, proton resonance mass spectrometry) have not led to a reexamination of catecholamines as markers of stress and adrenal medullary function. 

Rodriguez de Fonseca, E, Fernandez-Ruiz, J.J., Murphy, L.L., Eldridge, J.C., Steger, R.W., and Bartke, A. (1991) Effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol exposure on adrenal medullary function evidence of an acute effect and development of tolerance in chronic treatments. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 40 593-598. 

Fruehan, a. E. and Frawley,T. F., Adrenal medullary function in the connective tissue disorders, Arthr. Rheumat. 6, 698 (1963). 

The primary purpose of the endocrine system is to maintain homeostasis — that is, to maintain a relatively constant internal environment in the face of a constantly changing external environment. The endocrine system consists of hormones and the glands and tissues that produce the hormones. A hormone is a chemical substance released by certain cells to effect the function of other distant cells (endocrine function). Many compounds act as endocrine hormones as well as having paracrine and autocrine functions. Paracrine and autocrine describe actions on nearby cells and on other cells that produce the substance, respectively. There is considerable overlap between substances classified as hormones and other chemical messengers such as neurotransmitters and cytokines. Many substances function in more than one of these categories. For example, epinephrine and norepinephrine function as both neurotransmitters and adrenal medullary hormones. 

The functional importance of this pathway in regulating adrenal cortical and medullary functions is not clear. Cyclic GMP has been implicated in both steroidogenesis (Sharma etal. 1974, 1976, Per-CHELLET et al. 1978, Perchellet and Sharma 1979) and catecholamine secretion (Derome et al. 1981, Dohi et al. 1983, O Sullivan and Burgoyne 1990). 

Lundborg, P., Storage function and amine levels of the adrenal medullary granules at various intervals after reserpine treatment, Experientia 19, 479 (1963). 

Figure 8 Slices through the median planes of 3D 300 MHz T2W images (TE = 6.5 ms, TR = 1.5 s, multiecho segmerttatlon, or RARE, factor = 32, TEeffeotive = 104 ms) of kidneys from a control rat (A), and from rats treated with an inner cortical (B) and papillary (C) toxin. Note the clear differentiation in the control kidney between cortex, medulla and papilla, and also the good definition of perirenal fat and adrenal glands. Note also the evolution of a hyperintense band in the cortical toxin-treated kidney reflecting derangement of renal tubular function and water buildup in this region. The papillary toxin evokes a loss of papillary-medullary contrast. Marked swelling of both treated kidneys is also obvious and easily quantifiable.

Steroid ll 8-hydroxylation is catalyzed by adrenal mitochondria (112-115,288,721 not liver, 369). Medullary tissue contains almost as much activity as cortical (333). The system shows some specificity (on the basis of perfusion studies 216,381,545,637) it transforms three precursor types which can be classified in order of yield according to functional groups (216,333) ... 

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