Causes of Adrenal insufficiency
Causes of Adrenal insufficiency (Diseases Database):
The follow list shows some of the possible medical causes of Adrenal insufficiency
that are listed by the Diseases Database:
Source: Diseases Database
Adrenal insufficiency Causes: Book Excerpts
Adrenal insufficiency as a complication of other conditions:
Other conditions that might have
Adrenal insufficiency as a complication may,
potentially, be an underlying cause of Adrenal insufficiency.
Our database lists the following as having
Adrenal insufficiency as a complication of that condition:
Adrenal insufficiency as a symptom:
Conditions listing Adrenal insufficiency
as a symptom may also be potential underlying causes of Adrenal insufficiency.
Our database lists the following as having
Adrenal insufficiency as a symptom of that condition:
Related information on causes of Adrenal insufficiency:
As with all medical conditions,
there may be many causal factors.
Further relevant information on causes of Adrenal insufficiency may be found in:
Causes of Adrenal insufficiency: Online Medical Books
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for more information about the causes of Adrenal insufficiency.
Adrenal hypofunction:
Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Adrenal hypofunction occurs when more than 90% of both adrenal glands are destroyed, an occurrence that typically results from an autoimmune process in which circulating antibodies react specifically against the adrenal tissue. Other causes include tuberculosis (once the chief cause; now responsible for less than 10% of adult cases), bilateral adrenalectomy, hemorrhage into the adrenal gland, neoplasms, and infections (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, histoplasmosis, and cytomegalovirus). Rarely, a familial tendency to autoimmune disease predisposes the patient to adrenal hypofunction and other endocrinopathies.
Secondary adrenal hypofunction that results in glucocorticoid deficiency can stem from hypopituitarism (causing decreased corticotropin secretion), abrupt withdrawal of long-term corticosteroid therapy (long-term exogenous corticosteroid stimulation suppresses pituitary corticotropin secretion and results in adrenal gland atrophy), or removal of a nonendocrine, corticotropin-secreting tumor. Adrenal crisis follows when trauma, surgery, or other physiologic stress exhausts the body’s stores of glucocorticoids in a person with adrenal hypofunction.
Adrenal hypofunction affects 1 in 16,000 neonates congenitally. In adults, it affects 8 in 100,000 people, and males and females are affected equally. There’s no racial predilection.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Adrenal hypofunction:
Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)
The following are causes of primary and secondary adrenal hypofunction and adrenal crisis.
Primary hypofunction
Addison’s disease occurs when more than 90% of both adrenal glands are destroyed. Such destruction usually results from an autoimmune process (autoimmune adrenalitis) in which circulating antibodies react specifically against the adrenal tissue.
CLINICAL TIP: Suspect adrenal insufficiency in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Although symptoms may not be present, testing frequently reveals abnormal results.
Other causes include tuberculosis (once the chief cause; now responsible for less than 10% of adult cases), bilateral adrenalectomy, hemorrhage into the adrenal gland, neoplasms, and infections (histoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus). Rarely, a family history of autoimmune disease predisposes the patient to Addison’s disease and other endocrinopathies.
Secondary hypofunction
Secondary hypofunction, which results in glucocorticoid deficiency, can stem from hypopituitarism (causing decreased corticotropin secretion), abrupt withdrawal of long-term corticosteroid therapy (long-term exogenous corticosteroid stimulation suppresses pituitary corticotropin secretion and results in adrenal gland atrophy), or the removal of a corticotropin-secreting tumor.
Adrenal crisis
After trauma, surgery, or other physiologic stress, adrenal crisis exhausts the body’s stores of glucocorticoids in a person with adrenal hypofunction.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
School Underachievement and Academic Failure:
Principal Causes of School Underachievement and AcademicFailure
(The Diagnostic Approach to Symptoms and Signs in Pediatrics)
- Environmentaldisadvantage
- Impaired intellectual ability
- Impaired hearing, language, or vision
- Specific learning disabilities
- Medical illness in the absence of psychosis
- Psychologic disorders
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- School phobia
- Adjustment reaction of childhood andadolescence
- Disruptive behavior disorders
- Bipolar disorder
- Pervasive developmental disorders
- Autism
- Childhood disintegrative disorder
- Asperger disorder
- Rett syndrome
- Pervasive developmental disorder nototherwise specified
- Psychosis
- Substance use
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: The Diagnostic Approach to Symptoms and Signs in Pediatrics, 2006
Cushing Syndrome (Adrenal Excess):
Cushing Syndrome - pathophysiology
(The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult)
- Cushing disease: Pituitary ACTH oversecretion, usually due to pituitary adenoma, with resultant bilateral adrenal hyperplasia
- Adrenal tumors
- Adrenal adenomas: Benign tumors that secrete mainly cortisol
- Adrenal cortical carcinomas: Usually large, rapidly growing tumors, which produce a variety of hormones including cortisol and androgens
- Ectopic ACTH production: A rare cause of Cushing syndrome in pediatrics. Small cell carcinoma, pheochromocytomas, medullary thyroid carcinoma, and carcinoid tumors can all secrete ectopic ACTH.
- Exogenous steroids: Iatrogenic Cushing syndrome is the most common cause in pediatrics. Cushing syndrome can be caused by chronic systemic, topical, or intranasal steroid, or ACTH use.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 2008
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