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The hearing loss of Pendred syndrome is often, although not always, present from birth, and language acquisition may be a significant problem if deafness is severe in childhood. The hearing loss typically worsens over the years, and progression can be step-wise and related to minor head trauma. In some cases, language development worsens after head injury, demonstrating that the inner ear is sensitive to trauma in Pendred syndrome; this is as a consequence of the widened vestibular aqueducts usual in this syndrome. Vestibular function varies in Pendred syndrome and vertigo can be a feature of minor head trauma. A goitre is present in 75% of all cases.
Pendred syndrome is a genetic disorder leading to congenital bilateral (both sides) sensorineural hearing loss and goitre with euthyroid or mild hypothyroidism (decreased thyroid gland function). There is no specific treatment, other than supportive measures for the hearing loss and thyroid hormone supplementation in case of hypothyroidism. It is named after Dr Vaughan Pendred (1869–1946), the English doctor who first described the condition in an Irish family living in Durham in 1896. It accounts for 7.5% to 15% of all cases of congenital deafness.
The common symptoms include:
- hyper-pigmentation of the skin
- visual disturbances
- headaches
- abnormal high levels of beta-MSH and ACTH
- abnormal enlargements of the pituitary gland,
- interruption of menstrual cycles in women
Children with Liddle syndrome are frequently asymptomatic. The first indication of the syndrome often is the incidental finding of hypertension during a routine physical exam. Because this syndrome is rare, it may only be considered by the treating physician after the child's hypertension does not respond to medications for lowering blood pressure.
Adults could present with nonspecific symptoms of low blood potassium, which can include weakness, fatigue, palpitations or muscular weakness (shortness of breath, constipation/abdominal distention or exercise intolerance). Additionally, long-standing hypertension could become symptomatic.
Pseudohypoaldosteronism (PHA) is a condition that mimics hypoaldosteronism. However, the condition is due to a failure of "response" to aldosterone, and levels of aldosterone are actually elevated, due to a lack of feedback inhibition.
This syndrome was first described by Cheek and Perry in 1958. Later pediatric endocrinologist Aaron Hanukoglu reported that there are two independent forms of PHA with different inheritance patterns: Renal form with autosomal dominant inheritance exhibiting salt loss mainly from the kidneys, and multi-system form with autosomal recessive form exhibiting salt loss from kidney, lung, and sweat and salivary glands.
Treatment of severe forms of PHA requires relatively large amounts of sodium chloride.
These conditions also involve hyperkalemia.
Types include:
Nelson's syndrome is a rare disorder and occurs in patients who have had both adrenal glands removed owing to Cushing's disease. During the disorder the patient develops macroadenomas that secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). The severity of the disease is dependent upon the effect of ACTH release on the skin, pituitary hormone loss, and the effect the tumor has on the surrounding structures within the body.
The first case of Nelson’s syndrome was reported in 1958 by Nelson et al. Dr. Don Nelson, an endocrinologist, named the disease. In comparison to the 1980s there have been fewer published cases in the 1990s. Thus, Nelson’s syndrome has become less prevalent. The disease becoming less prevalent is supported by much advancement in the medical field. Within the past ten to twenty years, improvements have been made with identification and care for patients with Cushing’s disease. Improvements have been made with techniques such as pituitary radiation therapy, ACTH assay, transsphenoidal pituitary surgery, higher resolution MRIs, and sampling of the inferior petrosal sinus. The advancements mentioned prior are what have allowed physicians to pursue other routes for Cushing’s disease therapy that don’t involve bilateral adrenalectomy.
Nelson’s syndrome is also referred to as post adrenalectomy syndrome and is a result of an adrenalectomy performed for Cushing’s disease. Corticotroph adenomas are detected in more females than males. Therefore, Nelson’s syndrome is observed in more females than males. Corticotroph adenomas are also detected in the younger population compared to the older population. Earlier, Nelson's syndrome was observed in 20-40% of patients who had a bilateral adrenalectomy with a pituitary adenoma. Nelson's syndrome is observed in 8-44% of the population who have undergone bilateral adrenalectomy treatment for Cushing's disease.
The common symptoms in all reported cases of primrose syndrome include ossified pinnae, learning disabilities or mental retardation, hearing problems, movement disorders (ataxia, paralysis, and parkinsonism among others (likely due, in part, to calcification of the basal ganglia), a torus palatinus (a neoplasm on the mouth's hard palate), muscle atrophy, and distorted facial features. Other symptoms usually occur, different in each case, but it is unknown whether or not these symptoms are caused by the same disease.
Chief markers of Goldenhar syndrome are incomplete development of the ear, nose, soft palate, lip, and mandible on usually one side of the body. Additionally, some patients will have growing issues with internal organs, especially heart, kidneys, and lungs. Typically, the organ will either not be present on one side or will be underdeveloped. Note that while it is more usual for there to be problems on only one side, it has been known for defects to occur bilaterally (approximate incidence 10% of confirmed GS cases).
Other problems can include severe scoliosis (twisting of the vertebrae), limbal dermoids, and hearing loss (see hearing loss with craniofacial syndromes), and deafness or blindness in one or both ears/eyes, Granulosa cell tumors may be associated as well.
Evaluation of a child with persistent high blood pressure usually involves analysis of blood electrolytes and an aldosterone level, as well as other tests. In Liddle's disease, the serum sodium is typically elevated, the serum potassium is reduced, and the serum bicarbonate is elevated. These findings are also found in hyperaldosteronism, another rare cause of hypertension in children. Primary hyperaldosteronism (also known as Conn's syndrome), is due to an aldosterone-secreting adrenal tumor (adenoma) or adrenal hyperplasia. Aldosterone levels are high in hyperaldosteronism, whereas they are low to normal in Liddle syndrome.
A genetic study of the ENaC sequences can be requested to detect mutations (deletions, insertions, missense mutations) and get a diagnosis.
Primrose syndrome is a rare, slowly progressive genetic disorder that can vary symptomatically between individual cases, but is generally characterised by ossification of the external ears, learning difficulties, and facial abnormalities. It was first described in 1982 in Scotland's Royal National Larbert Institution by Dr D.A.A. Primrose.
Primrose syndrome appears to occur spontaneously, regardless of family history. The cause is currently unknown and there are no known treatments.
The various signs and symptoms in Sheehan's syndrome are caused by damage to the pituitary, which causes a decrease in one or more hormones it normally secretes (see Pathophysiology section). Since the pituitary controls many glands in the endocrine system, partial or complete loss of a variety of functions may result.
Most common initial symptoms of Sheehan's syndrome are agalactorrhea (absence of lactation) and/or difficulties with lactation. Many women also report amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea after delivery. In some cases, a woman with Sheehan syndrome might be relatively asymptomatic, and the diagnosis is not made until years later, with features of hypopituitarism. Such features include secondary hypothyroidism with tiredness, intolerance to cold, constipation, weight gain, hair loss and slowed thinking, as well as a slowed heart rate and low blood pressure. Another such feature is secondary adrenal insufficiency, which, in the rather chronic case is similar to Addison's disease with symptoms including fatigue, weight loss, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels), anemia and hyponatremia (low sodium levels). Such a woman may, however, become acutely exacerbated when her body is stressed by, for example, a severe infection or surgery years after her delivery, a condition equivalent with an Addisonian crisis. The symptoms of adrenal crisis should be treated immediately and can be life-threatening. Gonadotropin deficiency will often cause amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, hot flashes, or decreased libido. Growth hormone deficiency causes many vague symptoms including fatigue and decreased muscle mass.
Uncommonly, Sheehan syndrome may also appear acutely after delivery, mainly by hyponatremia. There are several possible mechanisms by which hypopituitarism can result in hyponatremia, including decreased free-water clearance by hypothyroidism, direct syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (ADH) hypersecretion, decreased free-water clearance by glucocorticoid deficiency (independent of ADH). The potassium level in these situations is normal, because adrenal production of aldosterone is not dependent on the pituitary.
Estrogen insensitivity syndrome (EIS), or estrogen resistance, is a form of congenital estrogen deficiency or hypoestrogenism which is caused by a defective estrogen receptor (ER) – specifically, the estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) – that results in an inability of estrogen to mediate its biological effects in the body. Congenital estrogen deficiency can alternatively be caused by a defect in aromatase, the enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of estrogens, a condition which is referred to as aromatase deficiency and is similar in symptomatology to EIS.
EIS is an extremely rare occurrence. As of 2016, there have been three published reports of EIS, involving a total of five individuals. The reports include a male case published in 1994, a female case published in 2013, and a familial case involving two sisters and a brother which was published in 2016.
EIS is analogous to androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), a condition in which the androgen receptor (AR) is defective and insensitive to androgens, such as testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The functional opposite of EIS is hyperestrogenism, for instance that seen in aromatase excess syndrome.
People often have few or no symptoms. They may get occasional muscular weakness, muscle spasms, tingling sensations, or excessive urination.
High blood pressure, manifestations of muscle cramps (due to hyperexcitability of neurons secondary to low blood calcium), muscle weakness (due to hypoexcitability of skeletal muscles secondary to hypokalemia), and headaches (due to low blood potassium or high blood pressure) may be seen.
Secondary hyperaldosteronism is often related to decreased cardiac output which is associated with elevated renin levels.
Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), also known as Kennedy's disease, is a severe neurodegenerative syndrome that is associated with a particular mutation of the androgen receptor's polyglutamine tract called a trinucleotide repeat expansion. SBMA results when the length of the polyglutamine tract exceeds 40 repetitions.
Although technically a variant of MAIS, SBMA's presentation is not typical of androgen insensitivity; symptoms do not occur until adulthood and include neuromuscular defects as well as signs of androgen inaction. Neuromuscular symptoms include progressive proximal muscle weakness, atrophy, and fasciculations. Symptoms of androgen insensitivity experienced by men with SBMA are also progressive and include testicular atrophy, severe oligospermia or azoospermia, gynecomastia, and feminized skin changes despite elevated androgen levels. Disease onset, which usually affects the proximal musculature first, occurs in the third to fifth decades of life, and is often preceded by muscular cramps on exertion, tremor of the hands, and elevated muscle creatine kinase. SBMA is often misdiagnosed as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).
The symptoms of SBMA are thought to be brought about by two simultaneous pathways involving the toxic misfolding of proteins and loss of AR functionality. The polyglutamine tract in affected pedigrees tends to increase in length over generations, a phenomenon known as "anticipation", leading to an increase in the severity of the disease as well as a decrease in the age of onset for each subsequent generation of a family affected by SBMA.
Glucocorticoid remediable aldosteronism (GRA), also describable as "aldosterone synthase hyperactivity", is an autosomal dominant disorder in which the increase in aldosterone secretion produced by ACTH is no longer transient.
It is a cause of primary hyperaldosteronism.
Goldenhar syndrome (also known as oculo-auriculo-vertebral (OAV) syndrome) is a rare congenital defect characterized by incomplete development of the ear, nose, soft palate, lip, and mandible. It is associated with anomalous development of the first branchial arch and second branchial arch. Common clinical manifestations include limbal dermoids, preauricular skin tags, and strabismus.
The term is sometimes used interchangeably with hemifacial microsomia, although this definition is usually reserved for cases without internal organ and vertebrae disruption.
It affects between 1/3,500 and 1/26,000 live births, with a male:female ratio of 3:2.
Lipoid congenital adrenal hyperplasia is an endocrine disorder that is an uncommon and potentially lethal form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). It arises from defects in the earliest stages of steroid hormone synthesis: the transport of cholesterol into the mitochondria and the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone—the first step in the synthesis of all steroid hormones. Lipoid CAH causes mineralocorticoid deficiency in affected infants and children. Male infants are severely undervirilized causing their external genitalia to look feminine. The adrenals are large and filled with lipid globules derived from cholesterol.
In the developed world it is a rare complication of pregnancy, usually occurring after excessive blood loss. The presence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (i.e., in amniotic fluid embolism or HELLP syndrome) also appears to be a factor in its development.
Patients with GRA may be asymptomatic, but the following symptoms can be present:
- Fatigue
- Headache
- High blood pressure
- Hypokalemia
- Intermittent or temporary paralysis
- Muscle spasms
- Muscle weakness
- Numbness
- Polyuria
- Polydipsia
- Tingling
- Hypernatraemia
- Metabolic alkalosis
Most infants born with lipoid CAH have had genitalia female enough that no disease was suspected at birth. Because the adrenal zona glomerulosa is undifferentiated and inactive before delivery, it is undamaged at birth and can make aldosterone for a while, so the eventual salt-wasting crisis develops more gradually and variably than with severe 21-hydroxylase-deficient CAH.
Most come to medical attention between 2 weeks and 3 months of age, when after a period of poor weight gain and vomiting, they were found to be dehydrated, with severe hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, and metabolic acidosis ("Addisonian or adrenal crisis"). Renin but not aldosterone is elevated. Many infants born with this condition died before a method for diagnosis was recognized for proper treatment to begin. In some cases, the condition is more mild with signs and symptoms of mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid deficiency appearing after months or even years (late onset).
Individuals with mild (or minimal) androgen insensitivity syndrome (grade 1 on the Quigley scale) are born phenotypically male, with fully masculinized genitalia; this category of androgen insensitivity is diagnosed when the degree of androgen insensitivity in an individual with a 46,XY karyotype is great enough to impair virilization or spermatogenesis, but is not great enough to impair normal male genital development. MAIS is the mildest and least known form of androgen insensitivity syndrome.
The existence of a variant of androgen insensitivity that solely affected spermatogenesis was theoretical at first. Cases of phenotypically normal males with isolated spermatogenic defect due to AR mutation were first detected as the result of male infertility evaluations. Until then, early evidence in support of the existence of MAIS was limited to cases involving a mild defect in virilization, although some of these early cases made allowances for some degree of impairment of genital masculinization, such as hypospadias or micropenis. It is estimated that 2-3% of infertile men have AR gene mutations.
Examples of MAIS phenotypes include isolated infertility (oligospermia or azoospermia), mild gynecomastia in young adulthood, decreased secondary terminal hair, high pitched voice, or minor hypospadias repair in childhood. The external male genitalia (penis, scrotum, and urethra) are otherwise normal in individuals with MAIS. Internal genitalia, including Wolffian structures (the epididymides, vasa deferentia, and seminal vesicles) and the prostate, is also normal, although the bitesticular volume of infertile men (both with and without MAIS) is diminished; male infertility is associated with reduced bitesticular volume, varicocele, retractile testes, low ejaculate volume, male accessory gland infections (MAGI), and mumps orchitis. The incidence of these features in infertile men with MAIS is similar to that of infertile men without MAIS. MAIS is not associated with Müllerian remnants.
Salivary gland hypoplasia is relative underdevelopment of the Salivary glands. Salivary gland hypoplasia tends to produce xerostomia (dry mouth), with all the associated problems this brings.
It is a rare condition, which may occur as a congenital abnormality or result from lack of neuromuscular stimulation.
It may be associated with Melkersson–Rosenthal syndrome, and hereditary ectodermal dysplasia.
The condition is due to:
- Bilateral idiopathic (micronodular) adrenal hyperplasia (66%)
- Adrenal adenoma (Conn's syndrome) (33%)
- Primary (unilateral) adrenal hyperplasia—2% of cases
- Aldosterone-producing adrenocortical carcinoma—<1% of cases
- Familial Hyperaldosteronism (FH)
- Glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism (FH type I)—<1% of cases
- FH type II (APA or IHA)—<2% of cases
- Ectopic aldosterone-producing adenoma or carcinoma—< 0.1% of cases
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 17α-hydroxylase deficiency is an uncommon form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia resulting from a defect in the gene CYP17A1, which encodes for the enzyme 17α-hydroxylase. It produces decreased synthesis of both cortisol and sex steroids, with resulting increase in mineralocorticoid production. Thus, common symptoms include mild hypocortisolism, ambiguous genitalia in genetic males or failure of the ovaries to function at puberty in genetic females, and hypokalemic hypertension (respectively). However, partial (incomplete) deficiency is notable for having inconsistent symptoms between patients, and affected genetic (XX) females may be wholly asymptomatic except for infertility.
Familial hyperaldosteronism is a group of inherited conditions in which the adrenal glands, which are small glands located on top of each kidney, produce too much of the hormone aldosterone. Excess aldosterone causes the kidneys to retain more salt than normal, which in turn increases the body's fluid levels and causes high blood pressure. People with familial hyperaldosteronism may develop severe high blood pressure, often early in life. Without treatment, hypertension increases the risk of strokes, heart attacks, and kidney failure. There are other forms of hyperaldosteronism that are not inherited.
Familial hyperaldosteronism is categorized into three types, distinguished by their clinical features and genetic causes. In familial hyperaldosteronism type I, hypertension generally appears in childhood to early adulthood and can range from mild to severe. This type can be treated with steroid medications called glucocorticoids, so it is also known as glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism (GRA). In familial hyperaldosteronism type II, hypertension usually appears in early to middle adulthood and does not improve with glucocorticoid treatment. In most individuals with familial hyperaldosteronism type III, the adrenal glands are enlarged up to six times their normal size. These affected individuals have severe hypertension that starts in childhood. The hypertension is difficult to treat and often results in damage to organs such as the heart and kidneys. Rarely, individuals with type III have milder symptoms with treatable hypertension and no adrenal gland enlargement.
This condition is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which means one copy of the altered gene in each cell is sufficient to cause the disorder. The various types of familial hyperaldosteronism have different genetic causes.
It is unclear how common these diseases are. All together they appear to make up less than 1% of cases of hyperaldosteronism.