hormonal and metabolic disorders
Adrenal Insufficiency
Primary adrenal insufficiency (Addison disease)
Addison disease can start at any age and affects males and females about equally. In 70% of people with Addison disease, the cause is not precisely known, but the adrenal glands are affected by an Autoimmune Disorders in which the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the adrenal cortex (the outer part of the gland, which is distinct from the adrenal medulla, the inner part which produces different hormones). In the other 30%, the adrenal glands are destroyed by cancer, an infection such as tuberculosis, or another identifiable disease. In infants and children, Addison disease may be due to a genetic abnormality of the adrenal glands (see Congenital adrenal hyperplasia ). In Addison disease, the Overview of the Pituitary Gland produces more adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH, also known as 