The adrenal glands, located just above each kidney, produce hormones that affect physical characteristics, growth and development, as well as regulate the body's response to stress. The adrenal glands receive instructions from the pituitary gland, a small gland located near the base of the brain often referred to as the master endocrine gland, according to the National Cancer Institute. Disorders that occur within the adrenal glands, or in other parts of the body but affect the adrenal gland, can interfere with the production of adrenal hormones, leading to symptoms that may require treatment.
Diagnosis
In order to successfully treat conditions of adrenal gland dysfunction, doctors must first determine the part of the adrenal gland causing the problem. Each adrenal gland consists of two sections. The adrenal cortex, the outer portion of the gland, produces hormones including cortisol, aldosterone and the sex hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. The adrenal medulla, part of the sympathetic nervous system, produces the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine in response to physical and emotional stress. Performing tests on urine, blood and saliva can measure the levels of specific hormones, including cortisol--the hormone most affected by adrenal problems.
Symptoms Treatment
Adrenal gland dysfunction can cause many different symptoms, but one symptom, high blood pressure, can lead to other health conditions. Therefore, although treating this symptom alone does not remedy the adrenal gland problem, doctors often treat the high blood pressure that results from either an increased level of cortisol or an increased level of epinephrine with medications such as beta blockers. Beta blocker medications inhibit adrenalin, also known as epinephrine, from binding to receptors, therefore slowing nerve impulses and dilating blood vessels.
Increased Hormone Output
Adrenal dysfunction often leads to an increased level of cortisol, which over time leads to Cushing's syndrome. Common causes of increased cortisol output include taking glucocorticoid hormones over a long period of time, an adrenal gland tumor or a pituitary gland tumor. Doctors can treat tumors that increase hormone output, known as functioning tumors, with radiation or chemotherapy to shrink the tumor. In addition, doctors use cortisol-inhibiting medications, including ketoconazole, mitotane, aminoglutethimide and metyrapone, according to the National Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases Information Service.
Adrenal Insufficiency
Adrenal insufficiency occurs when the adrenal glands fail to produce an adequate supply of hormones. Constant stress causes the adrenal glands to work too hard. This depletes both the hormone and energy supply in the body and damages the adrenal glands, causing them to either shrink or enlarge. Doctors usually treat conditions of low cortisol levels with synthetic steroids such as hydrocortisone tablets.
Surgical Removal
When other types of treatment fail, surgical procedures can treat adrenal gland disorders. Doctors can resolve disorders caused by a pituitary tumor by removing the pituitary gland. Disorders caused by a tumor in the adrenal gland resolve by surgically removing either the tumor or the whole adrenal gland. Doctors can remove the adrenal gland through a minimally invasive procedure known as a laparoscopic adrenalectomy or through an open adrenalectomy, which requires a 6- to 12-inch incision in the abdomen, back or flank, as described by the Society for Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons.
