Sodium status, corticosteroid metabolism and blood pressure in normal human subjects and in a patient with abnormal salt appetite.

1. A patient with severe hypertension was found to have mildly impaired 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11 beta-HSD) activity on the basis of urinary steroid metabolite ratios, low plasma aldosterone, angiotensin II and renin levels and marginally low levels of plasma potassium. 2. The patient also had a compulsively high salt intake. 3. We tested the hypothesis that high salt intake may affect 11 beta-HSD activity. 4. High salt intake in normal subjects did not significantly alter either blood pressure or 11 beta-HSD activity. 5. We suggest that the potentially small hypertensive effect of the partial enzyme deficiency in our patient, also reported in patients with essential hypertension, has been markedly amplified by the very high salt intake.