Addison's Disease - Essay

Addison 's disease is a disorder that occurs when a person 's adrenal glands produce insufficient amounts of certain hormones. When Addison 's diseased was first discovered the endocrine system was not yet completely understood therefore the disease itself was for the most part fatal. After years of research and medical breakthroughs Addison 's disease is now a disease in which someone can live a normal life as long as a daily dose of replacement

Cortisol plays a major role in the development of this disorder. It is secreted by the adrenal gland, located above the kidneys, in a precise sequence of events. The hypothalamus directs corticotropin-releasing hormone(CRH) to the pituitary gland.1 CRH causes the pituitary to release adrenocorticotropin hormone(ACTH) activate the adrenal glands.1 The adrenal glands pick up the ACTH, they reciprocate by releasing cortisol in the bloodstream.1 Cortisol helps with quite a few of your body functions. Some of these functions are stress response, balancing the effects of insulin, reducing the immune system’s inflammatory response, regulating

Cushing 's syndrome (CS) is characterized by pathologically elevated free glucocorticoid levels. Endogenous hypercortisolism is usually due to ACTH-secreting pituitary corticotropic adenomas and less often due to ectopic ACTH-secreting neuroendocrine neoplasms or ACTH-independent adrenal cortisol hypersecretion (Yaneva, 2010). Cushing 's disease occurs infrequently in an inherited setting in both of these conditions (Yaneva, 2010).

Within the human body, many functions are regulated by the endocrine glands, which secrete hormones. Abnormal levels of any of these hormones can lead to a number of disease states. One of these hormones is cortisol which is produced by the adrenal gland. Excess levels of cortisol can manifest in Cushing disease and Cushing syndrome, with a variety of symptoms, test methods and treatments.

Cushing’s is a disease in which you have an abnormally elevated level of cortisol. There are two major types of Cushing’s. The first type of Cushing’s is rare and is called “Cushing’s Disease”, it’s cause by an endogenous factor, which means that something goes wrong inside your body. This type is usually characterized by the body’s own overproduction of ACTH, Which controls Cortisol. Other internal factors that may cause Cushing’s Disease is a pituitary gland tumor (can be benign or cancerous and is the most common), an ectopic tumor that secretes ACTH, an adrenal adenoma (benign) and adrenal carcinomas (cancerous). In very few rare cases people can inherit a predisposition to developing endocrine tumors (Toft 2016). The second type of Cushing’s

Idiopathic Addison disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes destruction of the adrenal cortexes, which in turn causes inadequate production of corticosteroids (Munir & Waseem, 2017). The patient will have increased levels of ACTH, but low cortisol and aldosterone levels (Jones, Brashers, & Huether, 2010). Clinical manifestations include electrolyte imbalances,

Adrenoleukodystrophy or otherwise know as ALD is a genetic and metabolic disorder in ,which long chains of fatty acids are deposited in the adrenal cortex and the nervous system, since the enzyme that breaks down fatty acids is not produced. The myelin sheath of the nerve cells and brain begins to deteriorate and weaken. The myelin sheath is responsible for protecting and covering the brain and nerve cells. When it becomes damaged neurological damage happens which is irreversible. As is the case of the occipital lobe. Which is located in the back when it becomes damaged it can lead to poor vision or blindness. There's two types of ALD ,but the most common is X-ALD. This means that their is an abnormal gene located on the x- chromosome.

Causes of intrarenal failure are preexisting problems in the body or obstruction in the kidneys themselves. Preexisting conditions relating to lack of hormone producing and stimulation or improper reabsoprtion and reuptake.

Cushing's syndrome or hypercortisolism is an endocrine disorder of the adrenal glands. It is the body's tissues overexposure to cortisol which is produced by the adrenal gland. Overexposure to cortisol can result from long-term use of synthetic glucocorticoid hormones to treat inflammatory diseases. Another cause are pituitary adenomas or benign tumor growths of the pituitary gland that secretes ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) which triggers cortisol overproduction. Symptoms encompass upper body obesity, severe fatigue,muscle weakness, high blood pressure, backache, elevated blood sugar, easy bruising, and bluish-red stretch marks on the skin. In women, increased growth of facial and body hair, and irregular menstrual periods that may

Thank you for this information that you added on this assignment. The adrenal glands play an important role in the body, and they are located above the kidneys which secrete many hormones essential for the body's normal functions. People with adrenal insufficiency do not produce enough of two vital hormones, called cortisol and aldosterone. Cortisol's most important function is to help the body respond to stress, such as surgery and illness, and recover from infections. Therefore, treatment of adrenal insufficiency results focuses on replacing or substituting those hormones “cortisol and aldosterone”. Cortisol deficiency is treated with replacement oral glucocorticoid medication. Prednisone or hydrocortisone is used most commonly. Fludrocortisone

Endogenous Cushing’s syndrome results when the high levels of cortisol originate from within the body. The most common causes of endogenous Cushing’s syndrome are adrenal, pituitary or ectopic tumours. These tumours lead to a disruption of the normal functioning of the HPA axis. Exogenous Cushing’s syndrome results when the high levels of cortisol in the blood is a direct result of some factor outside of the body, such as the administration of therapeutic steroids (Bronstein 2011). The endogenous component of Cushing’s syndrome can be further broken down into ACTH dependent and ACTH independent. ACTH-dependent causes account for the majority of cases (80%) (Bronstein 2011). Pituitary adenomas account for 80% of ACTH-dependent causes, with the remaining 20% resulting from ectopic tumours. These ectopic tumours are generally small-cell carcinomas of the lungs, but may also result from endocrine tumours on a variety of organs (Newell-Price et al. 2006). ACTH-independent causes typically result from various tumours on the adrenal glands, resulting in the direct secretion of cortisol into the blood. In extremely rare cases, ACTH-independent Cushing’s syndrome can be caused by corticotropin-independent macronodular adrenal disease and McCune-Albright syndrome (Newell-Price et al. 2006).

Because of the endocrine system’s critical role in so many important biological and physiological functions, impairments in any part of the endocrine system can lead to disease or even death. For example, diabetics have deficiencies in insulin release and/or action, and people with type I diabetes will die without insulin replacement. Aldosterone is also critical for life, and adrenal diseases affecting aldosterone function can be life-threatening. Often, under- or over-secretion of hormones such as thyroid hormone results in metabolic disturbances and many physical and neurobiological changes, due to thyroid hormone’s key role in day-to-day cellular metabolism and brain function. Other hormonal dysfunctions include infertility, growth disturbances,

Addison's disease (chronic adrenal insufficiency) is a rare and progressive disorder that affects between one and six in every 100,000 people. It affects people of both sexes and all ages.

     Addison’s disease is a disorder of the endocrine system. It is a hormonal disorder that can strike anyone, any gender at any age. Addison’s disease has also been called Adrenal Insufficiency (hypocortisolism) because the root of the disease is in the adrenal gland not producing enough of the hormone cortisol, or sometimes not enough of the hormone aldosterone to satisfy the body’s needs.

ACTH-independent Cushings Syndrome typically originates from abnormalities of the adrenal gland. Adrenal adenoma and adrenal carcinoma occur when there is a benign or cancerous tumor on the adrenal gland. These tumors can cause over production of cortisol, disrupting homeostasis. Other diseases like Carney complex and McCune Albright syndrome have also been associated with abnormalities of the adrenal gland, causing overproduction of cortisol. A final form of cushings syndrome is exogenous glucocorticoid administration.