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Underactive Adrenal Glands- Adrenal Insufficiency
Overactive Adrenal Glands- Cushing’s Syndrome
Endocrine Hypertension – High Blood Pressure
What hormones are produced by the adrenal glands?
The adrenal glands release several hormones crucial for the health and sustaining life, such as cortisol, aldosterone, androgens, and stress hormones.
Cortisol
Cortisol regulates metabolism and affects inflammation, blood glucose, blood pressure, sleep-wake cycle, etc. It is a stress hormone that prepares the body for a stressful state.
Aldosterone
Aldosterone hormone regulates blood pressure and electrolytes such as sodium and potassium.
DHEA and androgenic steroids
The adrenals produce weak male hormones converted to androgens in the testes and estrogen in the ovaries.
Epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine
This is the hormone that is commonly called adrenaline. It prepares your body for fright and flight response. It increases heart rate and glucose levels and boosts blood flow to the brain and muscle.
What is Adrenal Insufficiency?
Adrenal Insufficiency is the condition when your adrenal gland is unable to produce cortisol, which can cause devastating life threatening consequences.
Addison’s disease is one of its subtypes, but it is due to an autoimmune disorder.
If you do not have ample cortisol production, you may experience the following symptoms.
- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
- abdominal pain
- Excessive fatigue
- low appetite
- muscle or joint pain
- depressed mood
- loss of body hair
- sexual dysfunction in women
If you primary adrenal Insufficiency such as Addison’s disease, you may also experience a salt craving, drop in blood pressure, dehydration, and skin darkening.
What other adrenal disorders might I develop?
The endocrine system has several hormonal glands that are interconnected. Adrenal gland disorders can result from conditions in the adrenal or the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is more like a master switch that sends the signal (hormones) to the adrenal gland to active them.
Overactive adrenal gland
An overactive adrenal gland can result from an adrenal nodule visualized on a CT or MRI scan. Most commonly, adrenal nodules do not produce excess hormones; however, in rare instances, they can. Very rarely, adrenal nodules can be cancerous.
Cushing syndrome
Cushing syndrome happens when the adrenal gland produces excess cortisol leading to fatty deposits in the body and weight gain. It has detrimental consequences such as the increased risk for heart attacks, and therefore, it should be evaluated thoroughly.
Hyperaldosteronism
Hyperaldosteronism is when the adrenal gland overproduces the aldosterone hormone, resulting in increased blood pressure and low potassium levels.
Pheochromocytoma
Pheochromocytoma is a neuroendocrine tumor that produces excess amounts of adrenaline or noradrenaline. This can result in spikes in blood pressure, anxiety, headache, and heart palpitations.
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
This is a genetic disorder affecting the enzymes that produce the adrenal hormones. It often leads to low aldosterone or low cortisol levels while increasing androgen levels. If there are excessive androgens, it can lead to male characteristics in girls and premature/ early puberty in boys. In some cases, it can be mild and can go undiagnosed for several years if there are no distinct symptoms.
Adrenal cancer
Adrenal cancers are rare and spread quickly to other organs before they are detected. These tumors can produce several hormonal disorders due to excessive production of the adrenal hormones.
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