The metabolic effects of excess noradrenaline secretion from a pheochromocytoma
J. Passwell, H. Boichis, D. Lotan, R. David, R. Theodor, B. E. Cohen and M. Many
We report a 14-year-old boy with severe hypertension who was cured by
surgical removal of a pheochromocytoma. The tumor was shown biochemically
and morphologically to secrete predominantly noradrenaline. The metabolic
effects noted in this patient were raised free fatty acid levels and
depressed insulin levels, hyperreninemia, hypercalcemia, and hypercalciuria
with normal parathyroid function. All these abnormalities returned to
normal after removal of the tumor. It is suggested that these effects were
mediated via beta-adrenergic stimulation of the excess noradrenaline.