Adrenal Gland Disorders
Your adrenal glands are two small organs on top of each kidney that make hormones like cortisol, aldosterone, and adrenaline. These hormones help turn food into energy, balance salt and water, keep blood pressure normal, and respond to stress. Adrenal gland disorders happen when your body makes too much or too little of one or more of these hormones.
Symptoms
- Symptoms depend on the type of disorder and hormone levels.
Causes
Causes can include medicines such as steroids, a problem in another gland like the pituitary gland, changes in genes (mutations), infections, or in many cases the cause is not clear.
Diagnosis
Health care providers use tests of blood, urine, or saliva to check hormone levels. They may also order x-rays, CT scans, or MRI scans to look for tumors.
Treatment
Medications
- Medicines are used to treat some adrenal gland disorders.
Frequently asked questions
What are adrenal glands?
Adrenal glands are two small organs on top of each kidney that make hormones needed to stay alive and healthy.
What hormones do adrenal glands make?
They make cortisol, aldosterone, adrenaline, noradrenaline, and hormones used to make sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone.
What causes adrenal gland disorders?
Causes include steroid medicines, problems with the pituitary gland, genetic changes, infections, or unknown reasons.
How are adrenal gland disorders diagnosed?
Doctors use blood, urine, or saliva tests to check hormone levels and imaging like CT or MRI to look for tumors.
What treatments are available for adrenal gland disorders?
Treatments include medicines, surgery, and sometimes radiation therapy. Some disorders can be cured, while others are managed.
Related conditions
Sources
- MedlinePlus: Adrenal Gland Disorders — NIH MedlinePlus
- Interplay between endocrine disorders and liver dysfunction: Mechanisms of damage and therapeutic approaches. — World J Gastroenterol, 2025
- Advances in multimodal imaging for adrenal gland disorders: integrating CT, MRI, and nuclear medicine. — Jpn J Radiol, 2025
- Adrenal Abscesses: A Systematic Review of the Literature. — J Clin Med, 2023
Last updated . Information is aggregated from official public sources and is not a substitute for professional medical care.