ALDOSTERONE: OBSERVATIONS ON THE REGULATION OF SODIUM AND POTASSIUM BALANCE

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Abstract
Aldosterone is secreted by the human adrenal. At a physiologic level its chief effects are to decrease Na excretion and to increase K excretion. The fraction which appears in an active form in urine was measured in normal men and in various patients. The output of aldosterone in normal men is closely related to Na and K intake and balance, and suggests an effort to return the altered balance toward normal. The pituitary appears to have little control over its secretion in man. Aldosterone output is increased: (1) in normal men on diets low in Na or high in K; (2) in the nephrotic syndrome, congestive heart failure, hepatic cirrhosis, or toxemia of pregnancy during periods of exacerbation and accumulation of edema: effective treatment and improvement of the underlying condition result in reduced aldosterone output and diuresis; (3) in tumors of the adrenal cortex which secrete aldosterone.