Addison’s disease

ADDISON’S DISEASE

Table 6: Isabelle Britto, Alex Picard, Feroz Shahid

Addison’s disease occurs when your body produces insufficient amounts of certain hormones by the adrenal glands.

What is Addison’s disease?

With this disease, too little cortisol and often too little aldosterone are produced by the adrenal glands.

Addison’s disease can occur in any age, and in any gender, at any time. It should be caught early, as it is life threatening.

Who?

The adrenal glands consist of two portions: the medulla and the cortex. Addison’s results from damage to the cortex, which produces three hormones: glucocorticoid, mineralocorticoid, and the sex hormones (androgen for male, estrogen for female).

Where does Addison’s disease occur?

Other than from damage to the adrenal cortex, Addison’s can also result from autoimmune disease, infections such as tuberculosis or HIV, hemorrhages, tumors, or use of blood thinners.

Symptoms include: changes in blood pressure or heart rate, chronic diarrhea, patchy skin color, unnaturally dark colors in some places, paleness, extreme weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite, mouth lesions on the inside of the cheek, nausea and vomiting, salt cravings, slow movements, and unintentional weight loss.

To get diagnosed with Addison’s disease, tests would show increased potassium, low blood pressure, low cortisol level, low serum sodium, and normal sex hormones.

Treatment includes taking medications to control the symptoms. Replacement corticosteroids typically keep the symptoms at bay. People typically take a combination of glucocorticoid & mineralocorticoid.

In case of emergency, Addison’s patients are encouraged to always have a bracelet on them warning emergency officials of what they have.

If medications are not taken, patients should immediately go to the emergency room, or inject themselves with hydrocortisone in cases of extreme adrenal crisis.

Fun Fact: One of our most famous and well known presidents, John F. Kennedy, suffered from Addison’s disease.

Addison's disease. (2009, November 25). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001416/

Work Cited

Addison's disease. (2010, June 10). Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/addisons-disease/DS00361

Addison's disease. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/addison_disease/article.htm

Seibel, J. A. (2009, December 13). Understanding Addison's disease. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-addisons-

disease-basics

Thompson , E. G. (2011, May 11). Addison's disease. Retrieved from http://www.fletcherallen.org/health_information/?id=hw65865

Addison's disease. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.web-books.com/eLibrary/Medicine/Endocrine/Addison.htm