Non-functioning adrenal incidentalomas may increase toxic metabolites.

Background: Non-functioning adrenal incidentaloma (NFAI) is a frequent diagnosis with increasing radiological tests. The emerging shreds of evidence showed that they might have negative cardiometabolic effects. The study aimed to investigate whether the toxic metabolites, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels, were altered in NFAI patients.

Methods: We included 43 NFAI patients and 41 controls with similar ages and body mass indices in the study. We compared plasma ADMA levels of both groups and noted the radiological features of NFAIs.

Results: The ADMA levels were significantly higher in NFAI patients than in the control group (307.04 ng/ml, range 81.89-577.7 ng/ml vs 192.54 ng/ml, range 70.61-440.26 ng/ml, p = 0.001). Nevertheless, we could not reach a significant correlation between ADMA levels and mass size.

Conclusion: The ADMA is known as a toxin and is increased in NFAI patients. NFAIs may not be innocent and may be considered a potential risk for the body. Further investigations were needed for more explanations.