What are the symptoms of adrenal gland disorders? The adrenal glands, located on the top of each kidney, are responsible for releasing different hormones Adrenal gland disorders occur when the adrenal glands produce too much or too little of these hormones
What causes adrenal gland disorders? - NICHD Adrenal gland disorders are caused by problems with one or both adrenal glands or by problems with other glands, such as the pituitary gland Specific disorders can develop when the adrenal glands produce too few or too many hormones, or when too many hormones are introduced from an outside source 1
What are some types of adrenal gland disorders? The normal activity of the adrenal glands can be suppressed—or reduced—when people take steroid medications (medicines that act like cortisol in the body) such as prednisone, hydrocortisone, or dexamethasone 2 Steroid medications, most often prednisone, may be prescribed to treat certain types of arthritis, severe allergic reactions
What are the treatments for adrenal gland disorders? - NICHD For hyperaldosteronism caused by an excessive growth of normal cells in both adrenal glands, the treatment involves medications that block the effect of aldosterone The treatment for hyperaldosteronism caused by a non-cancerous tumor in one adrenal gland is removing the affected gland using laparoscopic (pronounced la-puh-re-SKOP-ic) surgery
How do health care providers diagnose adrenal gland disorders? Methods for diagnosing adrenal gland disorders differ depending on the specific disorder For example, the severe form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is most commonly identified during newborn screening 1 But pheochromocytoma is diagnosed using blood and urine tests 2