Adrenal Insufficiency – Addison’s Disease

Addison’s disease also known as primary adrenal insufficiency or hypoadrenalism is an endocrine or hormonal disorder of the adrenal glands which can affect men as well as women in any age group though it is common between the age of thirty and forty where women are more likely to get affected than men. The adrenal glands are the two small glands located on top of the kidneys. This ailment affects the production of essential hormones known as cortisol and aldosterone.

In most of the cases, it is caused by the gradual destruction of the adrenal cortex which is the outer layer of the adrenal gland by the body’s immune system. It is also reported that Addison’s disease is caused by autoimmune disorders wherein the immune system develops antibodies which can attack the body tissues or organs thereby destroying them. Adrenal insufficiency takes place when 90 percent of the adrenal cortex is destroyed resulting is lack of cortisol and aldosterone hormones. At times only adrenal gland gets affected as in the case of idiopathic adrenal insufficiency, while sometimes other glands too get affected like in the case of polyendocrine deficiency syndrome.

Symptoms – Depression/Muscle Weakness Etc. - Initial symptoms of this disease are similar to other common medical ailments like depression or flu wherein the person may experience muscle weakness, loss of appetite with weight loss, lack of energy, feel thirsty and over a period of time, it can tend to be more severe and the person may experience cramps, dizziness and exhaustion, skin changes with hyper pigmentation or dark tanning which is mostly visible on pressure points like the lips, knuckles, elbows, knees, toes, skin folds scars and mucous membranes. Other symptoms may also include low blood pressure which may tend to drop while standing resulting in fainting or dizziness.

Adrenal Crisis - The progress of the symptoms is slow and hence it is usually ignored till a stressful situation may cause it to worsen it, which is known as Addisonian crisis or acute adrenal insufficiency. When this happened, the levels of cortisol in the body fall considerably and an adrenal crisis is considered as a medical emergency and if not treated it could tend to be fatal. During Addisonian crisis, low blood pressure, low blood glucose and high levels of potassium could endanger life and at times the symptoms may even tend to get severe, resulting in medical treatment to be administered. Standard therapy like intravenous injections, saline and usage is given to the person bringing about instant improvement.

Treating this disease is done with medication to compensate for the missing hormones which could be continued for the rest of their life. The treatment involves substituting the hormones which the adrenal glands are not producing. Cortisol is replaced orally with the help of tablets taken as prescribed by the physician. If there is a deficiency of aldosterone it is also replaced with oral doses which are prescribed by the physician. It is often essential to be knowledgeable on the different types of ailments which may inflict any individual and that which could help in prevention being better than cure. Check out for more information at Dream Health which could prove to be beneficial to the viewer.