18,19-Dihydroxycorticosterone (18,19(OH)2-B) and
18-hydroxy-19-norcorticosterone (18-OH-19-nor-B) measurements were carried out on the urine of patients with primary
aldosteronism (PA),
essential hypertension (EHT), and
liver cirrhosis with (LC, SA (+)) and without (LC, SA (-))
aldosteronism. The separation of these
steroids was performed by extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography followed by radioimmunoassay (RIA) with specific
antibodies prepared in our laboratory. 18,19(OH)2-B excretion was elevated in patients with PA (24 +/- 5.9 [+/- SE] micrograms/24 hr; n = 15) and LC, SA (+) (83 +/- 9.4 micrograms/24 hr; n = 8). Values in LC, SA (-) (3.1 +/- 1.2 micrograms/24 hr; n = 8) and in EHT (3.7 +/- 0.4 micrograms/24 hr; n = 42) were found to be similar to those in normal subjects (5.5 +/- 0.9 micrograms/24 hr;
n = 30). The values of urinary 18-OH-19-nor-B in PA and LC, SA (+) were higher than in LC, SA (-) EHT and normal subjects (P less than 0.05). Values in the latter three groups, as compared with each other, did not show significant alterations. Nothing is known about the
biologic relevance of 18,19(OH)2-B and very little about that of 18-OH-19-nor-B, but the latter
steroid seems to potentiate experimental
renal hypertension. One can speculate about possible roles of both
steroids as precursors of other
steroids, e.g., the biologically potent
mineralocorticoid 19-noraldosterone. The data obtained suggest that it is not relevant to measure the urinary levels of either
steroid in these clinical syndromes.