What is Addisons disease?
Addison’s disease is an endocrine or hormonal disorder that occurs in all age groups and afflicts men and women equally. The disease is characterized by weight loss, muscle weakness, fatigue, low blood pressure, and sometimes darkening of the skin in both exposed and nonexposed parts of the body. Addison’s disease occurs when the adrenal glands do not produce enough of the hormone cortisol and, in some cases, the hormone aldosterone. The disease is also called adrenal insufficiency, or hypocortisolism. Cortisol Cortisol is normally produced by the adrenal glands, located just above the kidneys. It belongs to a class of hormones called glucocorticoids, which affect almost every organ and tissue in the body. Scientists think that cortisol has possibly hundreds of effects in the body. Cortisol’s most important job is to help the body respond to stress. Among its other vital tasks, cortisol helps maintain blood pressure and cardiovascular function helps slow the immune system’s inflammator
Adrenal function The adrenal glands sit at the top of the kidneys, one on each side of the body and have an inner core (known as the medulla) surrounded by the outer shell (known as the cortex). The inner medulla produces adrenaline, the fight or flight stress hormone. While the absence of the adrenal medulla does not cause disease, the cortex is more critical. It produces the steroid hormones that are essential for life: cortisol and aldosterone. Cortisol mobilises nutrients, it enables the body to fight inflammation, it stimulates the liver to produce blood sugar and it also helps control the amount of water in the body. Aldosterone regulates salt and water levels which affect blood volume and blood pressure. The adrenal cortex also produces sex hormones known as adrenal androgens; the most important of these is DHEA. The normal adrenal cortex has an enormous functional reserve. This is called upon by the body especially in times of intense stress, such as surgery, trauma or serious
Addison’s disease is the result of an underactive adrenal gland. An underactive adrenal gland produces insufficient amounts of corticosteroid hormones. Four in every 100,000 people have Addison’s disease. What causes Addison’s disease? Most of the time, the cause of the disease is unknown. About one-third of Addison’s disease cases are caused by the actual destruction of the adrenal glands through cancer, infection, or other diseases. Other causes may include: • Use of corticosteroids as a treatment (such as prednisone) causes a slow down in production of natural corticosteroids by the adrenal glands. • Certain drugs used to treat fungal infections may block production of corticosteroids in the adrenal glands. Results of inadequate corticosteroid production: Lack of corticosteroids has several health repercussions: • Lack of corticosteroids can cause elevated levels of sodium and retention of potassium. This leads to the inability to produce concentrated urine by the kidneys, which in
Your body is a finely tuned machine. One way it keeps itself in balance is by using chemical messengers called hormones to regulate various functions. Just above each of your kidneys is a small adrenal gland. These glands make some of the hormones your body needs. When they don’t make enough of these hormones, Addison’s disease is the result. Addison’s disease is a rare condition. Only one in 100,000 people has it. It can happen at any age to either men or women at an equal rate. People with Addison’s disease can lead normal lives as long as they take their medication. President John F. Kennedy had the condition. In Addison’s disease, the adrenal glands don’t make enough of a hormone called cortisol, or less often, a related hormone called aldosterone. That’s why doctors sometimes call the illness chronic adrenal insufficiency, or hypocortisolism. Cortisol’s most important function is to help the body respond to stress. It also helps regulate your body’s use of protein, carbohydrates,
