Since the relationship between steroidogenic activity and morphological differentiation is not necessarily clear in the human adrenal cortex, aldosterone (Al), cortisol (F) and corticosterone (b) from the adrenal tissues cut into four small pieces (capsule and glomerulosa, outer fascicular, inner fascicular, and reticular zones) on a cryostat immediately after their removal at surgery were estimated by radioimmunoassay in 15 patients with adrenal diseases (8 primary aldosteronism, 1 idiopathic aldosteronism, 4 Cushing's syndrome and 2 pheochromocytoma) and 8 control subjects with other diseases. A larger amount of Al was contained in the outer fascicular zone than in other zones in control subjects. Al showed a high value of 0.16 approximately 7.40 ng/mg tissue in adenomas of primary aldosteronism and a low value of 0 approximately 0.25 ng/mg tissue in adenomas of Cushing's syndrome. A high value of Al was detected in idiopathic aldosteronism but not in the remaining adrenal of primary aldosteronism. In Cushing's syndrome, F showed a high value of 2.58 approximately 12.3 ng/mg tissue in adenoma and a relatively low level of 0.77 ng/mg tissue in carcinoma. A larger amount of F and B was found in the inner fascicular zone than in other zones in the control subjects. These results indicate that the corticosteroid content in each adrenal zone correlates with the morphological findings.

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Both plasma renin activity and angiotensin ‡U during recumbency measured by radioimmuno assay, were normal in essential hypertension, chronic glomerulonephritis and bilateral renal artery stenosis, definitely low in primary aldosteronism, and high in unilateral renal artery stenosis. In normal subjects upright posture and furosemide administration induced an elevation in plasma renin activity; which correlated directly with the elevation in angiotensin ‡U. In general, the increase in plasma renin activity was much larger than that in plasma angiotensin ‡U. Plasma renin activity and angiotensin ‡U did not increase in primary aldosteronism, while markedly increased in unilateral renal artery stenosis during upright posture with furosemide administration. The response of plasma renin activity and angiotensin If in essential hypertension and chronic glomerulonephritis was essentially similar to that observed in normal subjects. The suppression of

A 52-year-old woman with intellectual disability was admitted to the hospital due to pneumonia. MRI of her brain showed diffuse hyperintensities on T₂-weighted and fluid attenuated inversion recovery images in the bilateral cerebral white matter. Laboratory examination revealed sustained high levels of serum KL-6. Karyotyping revealed partial monosomy of the X chromosome. This is the first case showing diffuse white matter lesions in the brain, and sustained high levels of serum KL-6 in Turner syndrome.

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