Plasma 18-hydroxycorticosterone and aldosterone responses to angiotensin II and corticotropin in diabetic patients with hyporeninemic and normoreninemic hypoaldosteronism.

To examine the nature of adrenal abnormalities in diabetic patients with hyporeninemic and normoreninemic hypoaldosteronism, responses of plasma 18-hydroxycorticosterone and plasma aldosterone to angiotension II infusions and ACTH injection were investigated in 8 diabetic patients with hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism and 9 diabetic patients with normoreninemic hypoaldosteronism compared to 11 control subjects. In both the patients with hyporeninemic and normoreninemic hypoaldosteronism, plasma 18-hydroxycorticosterone and plasma aldosterone were low, whereas plasma cortisol and plasma corticosterone were within normal ranges. Percent increments of plasma 18-hydroxycorticosterone and plasma aldosterone above their baseline levels after angiotensin II infusions were low or somewhat low in the patients with hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism and low in the patients with normoreninemic hypoaldosteronism. Percent increments of plasma 18-hydroxycorticosterone and plasma aldosterone above their baseline levels after ACTH injection were similar in three groups. These results suggest that in diabetic patients with isolated hypoaldosteronism, the adrenal abnormality, regardless of whether it is primary or secondary, is mainly due to impaired adrenal responsiveness to angiotension II and atrophy and the zona glomerulosa.