Adrenal gland disorder

Adrenal gland disorders (or diseases) are conditions that interfere with the normal functioning of the adrenal glands.[1] Adrenal disorders may cause hyperfunction or hypofunction, and may be congenital or acquired.

The adrenal gland produces hormones that affects growth, development and stress, and also helps to regulate kidney function. There are two parts of the adrenal glands, the adrenal cortex and the adrenal medulla. The adrenal cortex produces mineralocorticoids, which regulate salt and water balance within the body, glucocorticoids (including cortisol) which have a wide number of roles within the body, and androgens, hormones with testosterone-like function.[2] The adrenal medulla produces epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline).[2] Disorders of the adrenal gland may affect the production of one or more of these hormones.

Tumors of the adrenal gland

Hereditary disorders associated with adrenal tumors

Disorders of hormone over/under-production

  • Addison's disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency, a disease in which the adrenal glands do not produce sufficient glucocorticoids (sometimes also mineralocorticoids) for a reason directly related to the adrenal gland itself, such as auto-immune damage to the adrenal gland or adrenal gland atrophy due to medication use
  • Adrenal crisis, a life-threatening medical emergency resulting from insufficient levels of cortisol
  • Adrenal insufficiency, a condition in which the adrenal glands do not produce sufficient glucocorticoids (or sometimes mineralocorticoids. This is often due to another adrenal disorder, such as Addison's Disease or Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, however it may also result from a problem elsewhere in the body (such as the hypothalamus or pituitary gland) that leads to abnormalities in the production of hormones regulating adrenal function
  • Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, a hereditary disorder in which one of the enzymes involved in cortisol synthesis does not function properly. This disorder is also often associated with an over-production of androgen hormones.
  • Cushing's disease, a disorder in which cortisol levels are abnormally high
  • Hyperaldosteronism (including Conn's syndrome), a condition in which aldosterone is over-produced
  • Hypoaldosteronism, a condition in which aldosterone is under-produced

Notable people with adrenal gland disorders

References

  1. "Overview of the Adrenal Glands: Adrenal Gland Disorders: Merck Manual Home Health Handbook". Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  2. 1 2 Adrenal Glands, Johns Hopkins Medicine Health Library.
  3. Mandel, Lee R. (September 2009). "Endocrine and Autoimmune Aspects of the Health History of John F. Kennedy". Annals of Internal Medicine. 151 (5): 350–354. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-151-5-200909010-00011. PMID 19721023.
  4. Upfal, Annette (2005). "Jane Austen's lifelong health problems and final illness: New evidence points to a fatal Hodgkin's disease and excludes the widely accepted Addison's". Medical Humanities. BMJ Publishing Group. 31 (1): 3–11. doi:10.1136/jmh.2004.000193. PMID 23674643.
  5. Marsden, Brian (1997-07-18). "Eugene Shoemaker (1928-1997)". Comet Shoemaker-Levy Collision with Jupiter. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
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