Addison's Disease: An Adrenal Gland Disorder

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Addison's Disease: An Adrenal Gland Disorder

Addison's disease, also called adrenal insufficiency, is a disorder wherein the adrenal glands do not make enough cortisol and, in many cases, aldosterone. Cortisol keeps blood pressure and blood sugar levels normal and is vital for a person's response to stress.

Who's at risk?

There are a number of risk factors associated with Addison's disease and they include:

Autoimmune disorders: Diseases like autoimmune thyroiditis and type 1 diabetes destroy the adrenal glands.

Infections: Tuberculosis, HIV and fungal infection destroys adrenal gland tissues

Surgery of adrenal gland: Resection or injury to adrenal glands results in Addison's disease

Medications: Long use of corticosteroids or anticoagulants depletes the hormones of adrenal glands

Genetic disorders: Those presenting genetic problems, such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, maybe the predisposing factors for this disease.

Is Addison's Disease Related to Age?

Independent of age, the following are considered risk factors for Addison's disease and can be related in some ways with age:

Childhood and Adolescence: This is usually the time when Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is diagnosed.

Adulthood: During this period, autoimmune disorders, infections, and surgeries may be present.

Older Age: Most autoimmune diseases, such as autoimmune thyroiditis, have increased incidence rates with age.

Manifestation of Addison's Disease

Common manifestations of Addison's disease may be as follows:

·         Fatigue and weakness

·         Weight loss

·         Low blood pressure

·         Low blood sugar

·         Nausea and vomiting

·         Salt cravings

·         Darkening of skin

·         Pain in the joints

·         Weakness of muscles

·         Hair loss

·         Decreased libido

·         Depression

Patients with Addison's disease may develop an acute adrenocortical insufficiency. This crisis is manifested by severe hypotension and shock with loss of consciousness.

Treatment

The main principle of Addison's disease treatment is long-term hormone replacement. The organism is not able to synthesize cortisol and aldosterone, and due to this fact, its synthetic analogs substitute for them .

Social Impact

Most of the time, living with Addison's disease has a colossal social effect. Always, a person must be concerned about day-to-day management regarding activities and drugs. Whenever possible, stressful events must be avoided. They usually carry emergency medicines and eat healthy diets; family, friends, or health professionals continuously support people who have Addison's disease.

The disease is treatable with the proper treatment of Addison's disease. Both the people living with the condition and the health care provider must understand the disease, symptoms, treatment, and options for social impact.