Adrenal Disease

Adrenal disorder pertains to irregular hormone production by the adrenal glands, leading to excess or insufficient levels of essential hormones like cortisol and aldosterone.

What are the adrenal glands?

The adrenal glands, located adjacent to each kidney, are small organs responsible for synthesizing and releasing sex hormones, aldosterone and cortisol, facilitating stress response. Dysfunction in adrenal gland activity can precipitate adrenal disorders or diseases.

What are the common forms of adrenal disorder?

Adrenal incidentaloma, denoting adrenal tumors larger than one centimeter, typically detected via diagnostic imaging techniques like CT scans or MRIs due to their usually asymptomatic nature.

Addison’s disease, arising from insufficient cortisol and aldosterone production by the adrenal glands, manifesting in symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, weight loss, low blood pressure, decreased appetite etc.

Cushing’s syndrome, marked by excessive cortisol production, presenting symptoms like easy bruising, osteoporosis, weight gain, and hypertension, though rare, can occur across all age groups.

How is adrenal disorder diagnosed?

Physical examination, medical history review, symptom evaluation and laboratory tests aid in diagnosis. In cases of suspected Addison’s disease, an ACTH stimulation test may be conducted to measure cortisol response.

How is adrenal disease managed?

Treatment strategies hinge on the specific disorder and symptom severity.