Sometimes it seems that the current medicine is at a very high level, but there are such diseases as pheochromocytoma, the causes of which still remain unknown. The only conclusion reached by most scientists is the influence of the genetic factor as one of the causes of the onset of a tumor. This conclusion is based on the fact that in 10% of cases the detected pheochromocytoma had a hereditary character, that is, it was previously present in one of the parents. There are no other theories about the causes of pheochromocytoma, which most doctors would agree with, do not exist today.
If the adrenal glands normally produce hormones that, while falling into the blood, maintain normal blood pressure and are also involved in regulating metabolism and balance of male and female sex hormones, the tumor formed in or around the gland leads to uncontrolledthe development of a single hormone, which causes a number of changes in the body and severe consequences in the future.
The pathogenesis of pheochromocytoma outside the gland will be characterized by increased releases of norepinephrine hormone into the blood, with all the ensuing consequences, among which the most notable is the combination of high systolic and diastolic pressure with bragicardia.
The pathogenesis of the tumor located in the adrenal medulla will have other manifestations, since in this case the pheochromocytoma will begin to contribute to the uncontrolled production of adrenaline, which means that the patient will have nervous excitement, hyperglycemia, tremor of the extremities, tachycardia, dilated pupils, high systolic pressure.
Pheochromocytoma by type of its occurrence can be:
- Primary;
- Secondary.
Primary disease is more difficult not only in the diagnostic plan, since most of the symptoms will have an episodic character and can simultaneously indicate several diseases. Secondary form, if the cause of the tumor was not metastases, after diagnosis and treatment of the underlying disease, in some cases can be cured even by an exclusively conservative method of treatment, without any surgical intervention.
Primary malignant neoplasm can be formed not only in the adrenal gland, but also in the place of bifurcation of the abdominal aorta, sympathetic paraganglia, pericardium, bladder and brain. In this case, each metastasis will be enclosed in a soft connective capsule, inside of which multi-nuclear cells often occur. But, regardless of the nature and location of the tumor, the hormone factor remaining in the pathogenesis of the pheochromocytoma, leading to uncontrolled hormone outbursts and fluctuations in blood pressure, can lead to stroke and death of the patient.