Abstract
Metabolic alterations in patients with hormonally active pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma
(PPGL) have been described early on in the literature. The initial findings were related
to disturbed glucose homeostasis and lipolysis activation, as well as elevated metabolic
rates in affected patients. Similarly, from early autopsy reports, the presence of
brown adipose tissue had been noted in PPGL patients. In more recent years, changes
in body weight, fat mass and distribution have been analyzed in more detail in addition
to activity of brown adipose tissue based on functional imaging techniques. Over the
last decades, several larger case series and cohort studies have contributed towards
the elucidation of possible mechanism contributing to these clinical observations.
Herein, we summarize the clinical and experimental data regarding metabolic alterations
and related clinical manifestations in PPGL patients.
Key words
pheochromocytoma - catecholamine - lipid metabolism - glucose metabolism - adipose
tissue - bone disease