The document describes signs and symptoms of adrenal insufficiency (Addison's disease) and Cushing syndrome. Key points include:
- Addison's disease causes lightheadedness, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, salt craving, high potassium, low blood sugar, weight loss, and death if untreated. Newborns also experience ambiguous genitalia.
- Cushing syndrome is characterized by hypertension, low potassium, high blood sugar, weight gain, facial rounding, poor growth, bruising, and death if untreated.
- Both conditions involve dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid production and regulation.
1. • Lightheadness
• Low blood pressure
• Rapid heart rate
• Salt craving
• High blood potassium
• Low blood sugar
• Poor appetite
• Weight loss
• Tanned
• Death if untreated
2. Child
• Lightheadness Newborn
• Low blood pressure • Low blood pressure
• Rapid heart rate • Rapid heart rate
• Salt craving
• High blood potassium • High blood potassium
• Low blood sugar • Low blood sugar
• Poor appetite • Poor appetite
• Weight loss • Weight loss
• Tanned • Ambiguous genitalia
• Death if untreated • Death if untreated
3. Child
• Lightheadness Newborn Adolescent
• Low blood pressure • Low blood pressure • High blood pressure
• Rapid heart rate • Rapid heart rate
• Salt craving
• High blood potassium • High blood potassium • Low blood potassium
• Low blood sugar • Low blood sugar • High blood sugar
• Poor appetite • Poor appetite • Increased appetite
• Weight loss • Weight loss • Weight gain
• Tanned • Ambiguous genitalia • Poor growth
• Death if untreated • Death if untreated • Death if untreated
4. Circadian Rhythm in ACTH and
Cortisol
ACTH Cortisol
(pg/mL) (µg/dL)
15
20
5
1
6am 6pm 6am
5.
6. The Stress Axis
Behavioral Autonomic Hormonal
[Sympathetic Nervous [Hypothalamic-
System] Pituitary-Adrenal]
Acute • Dilate eyes
• Fear • Raise heart rate
• Clarity of thought • Raise cardiac output
• Anorexia • Maintain blood • Maintain blood
• Loss of libido pressure pressure
• Fight or flight • Raise breathing rate • Prevent
• Bronchodilate ahypoglycemia
Chronic • Prevent hypoglycemia • Loss of
• Loss of reproductive • Increase blood to brain, areproductive
behavior muscle abehavior and fxn
• Decrease blood to skin • Loss of growth
gut
O W
I D ED
P IR L E
A S US
R DW FF
AR DI
7. The Stress Axis
Behavioral Autonomic Hormonal
Sympathetic Hypothalamic-
Nervous Pituitary-Adrenal
System PVN
CRH CRH
VP III
Amygdala Brainstem
Stress-induced Catecholamines
behaviors pregangionic
effects Pituitary
ACTH
postgangionic
Cortisol
Epinephrine effects
26. Adrenal Hormone Synthesis
Cholesterol
HO
Aldosterone Synthase
20-22 3ßHSD 21OHase (11ßOHase, 18OHase,
Desmolase 18HSD)
HO HO O
=O =O HO =O HO =O =
HO O--C
zona
glomerulosa
HO O= O= O=
Pregnenolone Progesterone Deoxycorticosterone Corticosterone O=
Aldosterone
11ßOHase
HO =O
17- HO =O HO
OHase =O =O OH
OH OH OH zona
O= fasciculata
HO O= O= Cortisol
17OH- 17OH- 11Deoxy-
Pregnenolone Progesterone Cortisol
OH Aromatase OH
17ßKetosteroid
GONAD
O O
17-20 Reductase
=
=
zona
Lyase
O= HO reticularis
Testosterone Estradiol
HO O=
Androstenedione
NH-CH3
Dehydroepiandrosterone
CHOH
CHOH
NH2
CH2
CH2
OH
OH
PNMT
medulla Norepi-
Epinephrine
HO
HO
nephrine
40. Nicholas, James A., M.D., Philip D. Wilson, M.D., and Charles J.
Umberger, Ph. D., "Induced Hypoadrenalism in Patients
Requiring Orthopedic Surgery," Journal of the American Medical
Association, May 18, 1957, vol. 164, No. 3, pp. 261-265.
Nichols, John, M.D., "President Kennedy's Adrenals," Journal
of the American Medical Association, July 10, 1967, vol. 201,
No.
2, pp. 115-116.