Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

Entries Tagged ‘ACTH’

Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency

Secondary adrenal insufficiency is due to deficient production of ACTH by the pituitary. This usually results from pituitary disease but is occasionally due to hypothalamic disorders. In general, primary adrenocortical insufficiency (Addison’s disease) is associated with inability of the adrenal to produce either cortisol or aldosterone. In addition, there may be cutaneous hyperpigmentation due to […]

Addison’s Disease

Addison’s disease is primary adrenocortical insufficiency from bilateral adrenal cortex destruction. Tuberculosis used to be the most frequent etiology but now is second to autoimmune disease atrophy. Long-term steroid therapy causes adrenal cortex atrophy from disuse, and if steroids are abruptly withdrawn, symptoms of adrenal failure may develop rapidly. This is now the most common […]

Cushing’s Syndrome. Part 2

48-hour dexamethasone suppression test. The 48-hour DST is the most widely used confirmatory procedure. Dexamethasone (Decadron) is a synthetic steroid with cortisone-like actions but is approximately 30 times more potent than cortisone, so that amounts too small for laboratory measurement may be given to suppress pituitary ACTH production. The test is preceded by two consecutive […]