Groundwater resources in the Jabal Al Hass region, northwest Syria: an assessment of past use and future potential

In many cases, the development of groundwater resources to boost agricultural production in dry areas has led to a continuous decline in groundwater levels; this has called into question the sustainability of such exploitation. In developing countries, limited budgets and scarce hydrological data often do not allow groundwater resources to be assessed through groundwater modeling. A case study is presented of a low-cost water-balance approach to groundwater resource assessments in a 1,550 k

Leptin levels are suppressed in primary aldosteronism

Primary aldosteronism is associated with hypertension secondary to salt and water retention, hypokalemia and impaired insulin secretion with glucose intolerance in some patients. The secretion of leptin, a hormone produced by adipocytes, may be altered by reduced insulin secretion in primary aldosteronism. We measured plasma leptin approximately 3 months before and 3 months after curing of primary aldosteronism in 18 patients (12 male, 6 female, body mass index 29.1 +/- 4.4, mean +/- SD). Patients were treated by unilateral laparoscopic adrenalectomy to remove an aldosterone-producing adenoma. There was a 46% postoperative increase in plasma leptin concentrations from 6.65 +/- 0.81 to 9.68 +/- 1.50 ng/ml (P = 0.004), despite a non-significant fall in body mass index. Plasma leptin was noted to increase after adrenalectomy in 16 of the 18 patients. The patients also had improved blood pressure and a significant increase in plasma potassium post-operatively. It is proposed that increased insulin secretory capacity associated with correction of negative potassium balance may account for the increase in plasma leptin after curing primary aldosteronism. Further studies are indicated to identify the mechanism of plasma leptin suppression in primary aldosteronism