

What are the symptoms of adrenal insufficiency?Įach person’s symptoms will vary. Removal of the pituitary gland or radiation treatment of the pituitary gland For example, people with asthma or rheumatoid arthritis may need to take prednisone.

That can happen if you must take certain steroids for a long time because of a health problem. Inherited disorders of the endocrine glands.Ī lack of the hormone ACTH leads to secondary adrenal insufficiency. Tuberculosis infection of the adrenal glands Primary adrenal insufficiency is most often caused when your immune system attacks your healthy adrenal glands by mistake. The result is that the adrenal glands don't make enough cortisol. As a result the pituitary gland doesn't make enough ACTH. This starts when the hypothalamus doesn't make enough corticotropin-releasing hormone. As a result, the adrenal glands don’t make enough cortisol. This starts when the pituitary gland doesn’t make enough of the hormone ACTH (adrenocorticotropin). Addison disease is an autoimmune condition in which your own antibodies attack the adrenal gland. This condition is rare. It may occur at any age. They don’t make enough of the hormones cortisol and aldosterone. It occurs when the adrenal glands are damaged.

They work in conjunction with the hypothalamus and pituitary glands in the brain.Īdrenal insufficiency can be primary, secondary, or tertiary: You have two adrenal glands, one on top of each kidney. Cortisol is able to affect nearly every organ system of your body Cortisol helps with your stress response, regulates metabolism, regulates inflammation, and affects how your immune system works.
