Dogs Get It Too

It turns out that our furry friends are susceptible to Addison's disease too. In fact, hypoadrenocorticism occurs 100 times more often in canines than in humans. Being a bitch doesn't help too. Female dogs make up 70% of the diagnosed cases in dogs.

Umm... Woof?

Research has shown that Addison's disease is genetic, but the gene still cannot be identified as of now. The only test available today is to check whether the dog's adrenal glands are functioning well.

The symptoms of Addison's disease in canines is the same as that in humans, and yes, that includes depression. Do look out for these symptoms in your pooch:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Tremors

As these symptoms are typical to many other diseases around, diagnosis is very difficult. Most of the time, a dog is only found to have Addison's disease when it experiences an Addisonian crisis. Arrythmia and a drastic drop in blood pressure to very low levels is common. The dog will also exhibit symptom of kidney malfunction and at this point, will likely be found to suffer from renal failure.

The dogs are typically treated with IV solutions for rehydration and an almost miraculous recovery may come about.

If your doggies are diagnosed with Addison's disease, there's no escaping the fact that they have to be on long term medication to replace the hormones they cannot produce. The medication can be administered orally or through injections. Under medication and supervision, they are able to return to normal life, but their stress triggers must be noted so that a potential emergency may be spotted before it even happens.

So the bottom line is, take good care of your dogs! WE love them too!

References:

1. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.addisondogs.com/addisons/articles/Addisons_Disease_Brochure.pdf. [Accessed 07 July 2012].
2. AddisonDogs | What Is Addison's Disease. 2012. AddisonDogs | What Is Addison's Disease. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.addisondogs.com/addisons/. [Accessed 07 July 2012].

Addison's Disease

Here's an introduction to Addison's disease.

What are the main causes of Addison's disease?

Addison's disease is also called adrenal insufficiency, which means that the adrenal glands are not working properly to secrete enough cortisol and aldosterone.

Addison's disease is caused by a disorder of the adrenal glands just above the kidneys or inadequate secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) by the pituitary gland in the brain.

A disorder of the adrenal glands affects the secretion of the hormones directly while inadequate secretion of ACTH by the pituitary gland causes the adrenal glands to secrete insufficient amounts of those hormones.

How does Addison's disease affect patients?


According to some of the personal experiences and life stories of patients in the Addison's Disease Self-Help Group, nausea was a very common indicator that something was very wrong. They experienced heavy vomiting, and in one case, a woman's esophagus ruptured. Daily routines like brushing teeth became a torture because that itself could induce vomiting.


Another symptom typical of Addison's disease is low blood pressure. Patients mentioned that the pressure dropped so drastically they couldn't even stand up or get out of bed.


Close friends and family often mistake symptoms as that of anorexia because patients tend to lose their appetites and their weights along with it. The mistrust and annoyance of loved ones coupled with the sufferings that come with the disease is why many of the patients experience psychological problems like depression too.

Once diagnosed, patients are affected for life. They need to take steroid pills everyday for the rest of their lives to compensate for the hormones their adrenal glands could no longer produce. They also require an emergency kit with injectable steroids just in case they cannot keep the pills down.

Patients suffering from an Addisonian crisis in which they experience a very serious drop in blood pressure and extreme weakness will die if not treated immediately with an injection of hydrocortisone solution because their major organs will start failing.

What is the biochemistry behind the disease?

I'm VERY tired...

The hormone, cortisol helps convert food to energy. Low cortisol levels slows down metabolism, leading to an increase in fatigue, as the supply of energy is insufficient to allow patients to keep up with daily activities.

The lack of nutrients also weakens muscles as the body's ability to extract caloric energy from food is greatly reduced and the tissues tend to break down over time. The products of the damaged muscle cells, such as myoglobin, is released into the bloodstream. Myoglobin is filtered out of the body by the kidneys. However, it breaks down into substances that are harmful towards the kidney cells, so a high concentration of myoglobin in blood may ultimately cause renal failure.

References:

1. What Are The Symptoms Of A Low Cortisol Level? | LIVESTRONG.COM. 2012. What Are The Symptoms Of A Low Cortisol Level? | LIVESTRONG.COM. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.livestrong.com/article/95672-symptoms-low-cortisol-level/. [Accessed 06 July 2012].
2. Addison's Disease Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment on MedicineNet.com. 2012. Addison's Disease Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment on MedicineNet.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.medicinenet.com/addison_disease/article.htm. [Accessed 06 July 2012].
3. Addison's Disease Self Help Group (UK). 2012. Addison's Disease Self Help Group (UK). [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.addisons.org.uk/. [Accessed 06 July 2012].
4. Addison's disease - NHS Choices. 2012. Addison's disease - NHS Choices. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/addisons-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx. [Accessed 06 July 2012].
5. Rhabdomyolysis: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. 2012. Rhabdomyolysis: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000473.htm. [Accessed 07 July 2012].

Questions about Addison’s disease

What are some of the symptoms of Addison’s disease?

• Abdominal pain
• Weight loss
• Muscle weaknesses      
• Dizziness

All these are the results of the malfunctioning of the adrenal glands and the lack of production of the necessary hormones in the body. 

These symptoms are often over looked until something drastic happens to the patient like an accident or surgery which causes the disease to advance even faster. This is called Addisonian crisis and can be characterised by the following symptoms: 

• Abnormal heart rhythms
• Severe pain in back and abdomen
• Uncontrollable nausea and vomiting
• Drop in blood pressure and vascular shut down
• Kidney failure
• Unconsciousness

What are the current cures?

Since Addison’s disease is an autoimmune disease, it is impossible to cure but it is treatable.  Medication taken are adjusted as per individual needs as other medical conditions must be considered. 

Some cortisol/aldosterone replacement medication must be taken if the patient is deficient.

There are natural and holistic remedies which may help relieve the symptoms and improve the patients well being. 

Herbal and homeopathic remedies are also available, which are effective but without the harmful side effects of medicine. 

Could one prevent this metabolic disorder?

It is impossible to prevent Addison’s disease, it can only be controlled. Since it is an autoimmune disease, the activity cannot be turned off once it starts. Addisonian crises, however, can be prevented. Medication must be taken to prevent the disease to escalate and harm the patient heavily. 

References

Addisons.org.uk (2008) Addison's Disease - Symptoms and description. [online] Available at: http://www.addisons.org.uk/info/addisons/page1.html [Accessed: 7 Jul 2012].
Endocrine.niddk.nih.gov (2006) Adrenal Insufficiency and Addison's Disease Page - National Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases Information Service. [online] Available at: http://endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/addison/addison.aspx [Accessed: 7 Jul 2012].
Nhs.uk (2011) Addison's Disease - Treatment - NHS Choices. [online] Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Addisons-disease/Pages/Treatment.aspx [Accessed: 7 Jul 2012].

Addison's disease in Humans

What is Addison’s disease? 

It is a primary adrenal insuffiency which happens when the adrenal glands are damaged and cannot produce enough of the hormones cortisol and aldosterone .

 Before we go into discussing Addison’s disease in humans, let us briefly look at the importance of the hormones which are depleted when someone has the disease. 

Cortisol

What does cortisol do? 

• ·         maintain blood pressure and cardiovascular function
• ·         slow the immune system's inflammatory response
• ·         maintain levels of glucose-a form of sugar used for energy-in the blood
• ·         regulate the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats

Aldosterone 

What does aldosterone do? 

• ·        maintain blood pressure , water and salt balance

Research has shown it affects one to four out of 100,000 people, in various age groups and both sexes.

Now let’s look at the effects it has on humans:

•     Unusually dark skin
•     Low blood pressure
•     Low body weight
•     Muscle weakness

In the later posts, we will be discussing why the disease has such effects on those who suffer from it.