Hyperreninemia and hypertension observed during Kaufmann therapy of patients with gonadal dysgenesis and hypopituitarism.

Cyclic replacement therapy using estrogen and progesterone was instituted in 28 patients with gonadal dysgenesis and 13 patients with hypopituitarism. When estriol was given at a dose of 2 mg per day, 10 patients (9 gonadal dysgenesis and 1 hypopituitarism) developed hyperreninemia and 3 of the 10 patients (all gonadal dysgenesis) were associated with hypertension. These side effects subsided within 6 months when the therapy was discontinued or the dose of estriol was decreased to 1 mg per day in addition to beta-blocker. Hypercholesterolemia was observed in 8 patients, but not related to high blood pressure. Attention should be paid to plasma renin activity and blood pressure when estrogen and progesterone are given for the development of genitalia in patients with gonadal dysgenesis.