Section 6 Adrenal Gland Reading Flashcards
Causes of hypoadrenocorticism:
adrenal destruction or impairment caused by trauma, autoimmune disease, infectious agents, neoplasia, genetic disease, medications, and iatrogenic
Examples of hypoadrenocorticism:
adrenal insufficiency, Addison disease
Adrenal dysfunction leads to:
decrease in endogenous corticosteroid levels
To what other gland is the adrenal gland linked and how?
pituitary gland, molecular feedback mechanism
How is the anterior pituitary gland affected if corticosteroid levels decrease?
stimulated to increase the synthesis and secretion of ACTH, act on adrenal cortex to stimulate corticosteroid production, causes pituitary gland to slow ACTH secretion
How is the system affected if low corticosteroid levels persist?
persistent ACTH secretion
What gene originates form the same host gene ass ACTH?
alpha-MSH:
Functions of alpha-MSH:
stimulation of melanocytes
True or False? As ACTH serum levels increase, there is a proportional decrease in the levels of alpha-MSH.
F. proportional increase
Clinical manifestation of increased levels of ACTH:
diffuse mucocutaneous pigmentation, patchy melanosis of multiple intraoral mucosal surfaces
What is one of the earliest signs of hypoadrenocorticism:
mucacutaneous pigmentation
other signs and symptoms connected to hypoadrenocorticism:
easy bruising, fatigue, mood swings, depression, and weakness
What ion levels are frequenctly altered in patients with hypoadrenocorticism?
decrease Sodium and increased potassium
Clinical test to diagnose hypoadrenocorticism:
serum cortisol levels and electrolyte levels
Treatment for hypoadrenocorticism:
steroid replacement therapy
Cause of Cushing disease:
primary activating pituitary gland (usually neoplastic) that leads to continuous secretion of ACTH and alpha-MSH into the blood stream
True or False? The negative feedback loop is upregulated in Cushing disease.
F. no negative feedback loop
Diffuse mucocutaneous pigmentation is one of the first signs of both of these disorders:
Cushing disease and hypoadrenocorticism
Levels of what are increased in Cushing disease?
serum corticosteroid levels
hypoadrenocorticism is aka:
Cushing syndrome (distinct from Cushing disease)
Which can causes which, Cushing disease or Cushing Syndrome?
Cushing disease may be a cause of Cushing Syndrome
True or False? All forms of Cushing syndrome are caused by a primary pituitary disease.
F. not all
What does Cushing Syndrome result form?
prolonged exposure to high concentrations of endogenous or exogenous corticosteroids
Most prevalent cause of Cushing Syndrome:
iatrogenic
What can lead to aberrantly high levels of corticosteroids?
primary hyperfunctional adrenal pathology, or neoplasms, including small carcinomas
Systemic complications of Cushing disease form excessive ACTH/ alpha-MSH secretion:
increased corticosteroids levels, high levels of GH, weight gain, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, dyslipidemia and the “moon facies”
The irregular pattern of the oral pigmentation of Cushing disease are similar to:
that seen in patients with other forms of diffuse or multi-focal hyperpigmentation
Diagnosis of Cushing disease:
serum cortisol and ACTH levels
