Sex-dependent modulation of T and NK cells and gut microbiome by low sodium diet in patients with primary aldosteronism.

Background: High dietary sodium intake is a major cardiovascular risk factor and adversely affects blood pressure control. Patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) are at increased cardiovascular risk, even after medical treatment, and high dietary sodium intake is common in these patients. Here, we analyze the impact of a moderate dietary sodium restriction on microbiome composition and immunophenotype in patients with PA.

From menus to misbeliefs: Absolute frequencies of healthy and tasty dishes predict the unhealthy = tasty belief in restaurants.

We examine whether the prevalence of healthy and tasty food options in restaurant menus leads to the formation of beliefs about the relationship between healthiness and taste that deviate from the correlation of healthiness and taste ratings. Participants (N = 195) rated the healthiness and taste of twelve dishes from two different restaurant types (American and vegetarian restaurants), estimated the frequencies of healthy and tasty options, and reported their health-taste beliefs. Results show that ratings of perceived healthiness and expected taste are uncorrelated in both restaurant types, but participants formed the misbelief that unhealthy dishes taste better than healthy dishes to a greater extent in American than in vegetarian restaurants.

Fast and reliable quantification of aldosterone, cortisol and cortisone via LC-MS/MS to study 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities in primary cell cultures.

Cell culture experiments can support characterization of enzymatic activities in healthy and tumorous human tissues. Liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) enables simultaneous measurement of several steroids from a single sample, facilitating analysis of molecular pathways involved in steroid biosynthesis. We developed a reliable but fast method for quantification of cortisol, cortisone and aldosterone in cell culture supernatant.

Diurnal 11-ketotestosterone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone saliva profiles in paediatric classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Objectives: The most suitable biochemical markers for therapy adjustment in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia are controversial. 11-Oxygenated androgens are a promising new approach. The objective of this study was to investigate the diurnal rhythm of 11-ketotestosterone in children and adolescents in saliva and to correlate it with salivary 17-hydroxyprogesterone.

Seeing is misbelieving: Consumers wrongly believe that unhealthy food tastes better when there is more of it.

Recent studies have shown that people can believe that unhealthy foods taste better, even if healthy and unhealthy foods are equally as tasty. Specifically, when tasty and unhealthy foods are frequent in one context but rare in another, people perceive unhealthy foods to taste better, even if health and taste are unrelated. Given that people often consume food in one context, the current study investigated whether false beliefs about the health-taste relationship in foods can also occur in just one single context, in which either healthy or unhealthy foods are predominant, when there is no contrasting context where the respective other food is predominant.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Patients With Elevated Aldosterone-to-Renin Ratio but Negative Confirmatory Test: The Progression of Primary Aldosteronism Phenotypes.

Background: About 10% of patients with arterial hypertension have a positive screening test for primary aldosteronism (PA) and 50% to 70% of them have a negative confirmatory test: the appropriate follow-up of these patients is currently unknown. We investigated the incidence of PA in patients with previous negative confirmatory testing, after at least a 2-year follow-up.

Methods: One hundred eighty-four patients with a previously elevated aldosterone-to-renin ratio followed by a negative confirmatory test were recruited in 2 hypertension centers (Torino and Munich).

Postoperative ACTH-stimulated aldosterone predicts biochemical outcome in primary aldosteronism.

Objective: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common surgically curable cause of hypertension. Unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma can be treated with adrenalectomy. Clinical and biochemical outcomes are assessed 6-12 months after adrenalectomy according to primary aldosteronism surgical outcome (PASO) consensus criteria.

11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD11B1) gene expression in muscle is linked to reduced skeletal muscle index in sarcopenic patients.

Background: Glucocorticoids play a significant role in metabolic processes and pathways that impact muscle size, mass, and function. The expression of 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD11B1) has been previously described as a major regulator of skeletal muscle function in glucocorticoid-induced muscle atrophy and aging humans. Our study aimed to investigate glucocorticoid metabolism, including the expression of HSD11B1 in skeletal muscle, in patients with sarcopenia.

Age- and sex-adjusted reference intervals for steroid hormones measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry using a widely available kit.

Objective: Measurements utilizing commercially available sets of reagents for determination of steroid hormone profiles by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) have become increasingly important for routine laboratories. However, method-specific publications of reference intervals obtained from sufficiently large studies are often missing.

Methods: After validation of performance characteristics, a widely available kit for steroid analysis by LC-MS/MS was used to measure concentrations of 15 endogenous steroids (aldosterone, cortisol, cortisone, corticosterone, 11-deoxycortisol, 21-deoxycortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, estradiol, testosterone, androstenedione, dihydrotestosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, 11-deoxycorticosterone, progesterone) in more than 500 blood samples from a population-based study.

Integration of clinical parameters and CT-based radiomics improves machine learning assisted subtyping of primary hyperaldosteronism.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate an integrated diagnostics approach for prediction of the source of aldosterone overproduction in primary hyperaldosteronism (PA).

Methods: 269 patients from the prospective German Conn Registry with PA were included in this study. After segmentation of adrenal glands in native CT images, radiomic features were calculated.

Food Is All Around: How Contexts Create Misbeliefs About the Health-Taste Relationship.

We investigated a novel cognitive-ecological account for misbeliefs about the relationship between food healthiness and tastiness. We propose that different frequencies of healthy and tasty foods in contrasting contexts can trigger perceptions that health and taste are related in ways that diverge from the actual health-taste correlation in the presented food. To investigate this proposal, we conducted three studies (total = 369), including a taste test, with adult Prolific academic participants from the United Kingdom and undergraduate psychology students from Austria.

Moderate dietary salt restriction improves blood pressure and mental well-being in patients with primary aldosteronism: The salt CONNtrol trial.

Background: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a frequent cause of hypertension. Aldosterone excess together with high dietary salt intake aggravates cardiovascular damage, despite guideline-recommended mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA) treatment.

Objectives: To investigate the antihypertensive impact of a moderate dietary salt restriction and associated physiological changes, including mental well-being.

Steroid profiling using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry during adrenal vein sampling in patients with primary bilateral macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia.

Introduction: Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is not a routine procedure in patients with primary bilateral macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia (PBMAH), but has been used to determine lateralization of cortisol secretion in order to guide decision of unilateral adrenalectomy. Our aim was to characterize the steroid fingerprints in AVS samples of patients with PBMAH and hypercortisolism and to identify a reference hormone for AVS interpretation.

Method: Retrospectively, we included 17 patients with PBMAH from the German Cushing's registry who underwent AVS.

The Saline Infusion Test for Primary Aldosteronism: Implications of Immunoassay Inaccuracy.

Context: Diagnosis of primary aldosteronism (PA) for many patients depends on positive results for the saline infusion test (SIT). Plasma aldosterone is often measured by immunoassays, which can return inaccurate results.

Objective: This study aimed to establish whether differences in aldosterone measurements by immunoassay versus mass spectrometry (MS) might impact confirmatory testing for PA.

The sustainability liability revisited: Positive versus negative differentiation of novel products by sustainability attributes.

In response to a growing consumer trend towards meat reduction and more plant-based diets, the food industry develops meat-reduced food innovations, such as blended products which replace part of their meat with plant-based ingredients. These products are usually promoted as being more sustainable than existing products. However, it is not clear whether sustainability attributes are used by consumers to positively or negatively differentiate these novel products from existing ones.

Beyond Healthiness: The Impact of Traffic Light Labels on Taste Expectations and Purchase Intentions.

The aim of traffic light labels on food products is to help consumers assess their healthiness. However, it is not clear whether traffic light labels do not have undesired side effects by signaling lower tastiness of healthy product alternatives and reducing purchase intentions. We therefore conducted a study with consumers from Austria ( = 173) in which we presented the amount of sugar contained in products on labels with or without traffic light colors based on the coding criteria of the UK Food Standards Agency.

A comprehensive method to determine sterol species in human faeces by GC-triple quadrupole MS.

The human gut microbiome plays a crucial role in both health and disease. Metabolites in human faeces related to microbial activity might therefore be attractive surrogate markers to track changes of microbiota induced by diet or disease. The hyphenation of gas chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry is a promising approach to increase sensitivity and selectivity as compared to single quad MS instruments.