Venous renal hypertension and androgenic adrenal function

Study of the adrenal androgenic function in patients with venous renal hypertension showed a notable increase of the levels of 17-a.-hydroxypregnenolone and DHEA-C in the peripheral blood and of DHEA-C excretion with the urine. Analysis of venous circulation in the left adrenal in the patients with venous renal hypertension brought the authors to a conclusion that hyperproduction of androgens in the left adrenal cortex is due to a paracrine mechanism. Retrograde bloodflow developing in the deep venous system of the left adrenal during pressure increase in the left renal vein leads to release of catecholamines from the medullary layer to the cells of the upper cortical layers of the organ. Adrenaline stimulation of steroidogenesis in the cortical cells, in turn, causes hypersecretion of androgens. Based on these data, the authors propose a hypothesis about a new mechanism regulating the androgen function of the adrenals.