LOW CORD-BLOOD LEVELS OF CATECHOLAMINE FROM A NEWBORN OF A PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA PATIENT

Association of pheochromocytoma and pregnancy is rare and usually rela ted to high maternal and fetal mortality rates. Maternal effects of th e tumor have been studied extensively and the clinical outcome has mar kedly improved during the last decade. However, the role of excess cat echolamines on fetal development has been discussed very little. We re port here a case of pheochromocytoma during pregnancy, in which catech olamine levels from the cord blood were low despite simultaneous eleva ted maternal values (1.93 and 29.46 nmol/l norepinephrine, respectivel y), possibly owing to the high activity of the catecholamine degradati ve enzymes monoamine oxidase and COMT at the placental level. We sugge st that in pregnancies complicated by pheochromocytoma, fetal well-bei ng may be related mainly to good control of maternal blood pressure in stead of to the amount of catecholamines in the fetal circulation, bec ause the placenta performs a protective role through an effective proc ess of hormone inactivation.