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?
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:
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?
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| I'm VERY tired... |
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:
- 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].
- 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].
- 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].
- 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].
- 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].
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