What does an overactive adrenal gland mean?
Hormonal excess is often although not always due to a tumour or a growth in the adrenal gland. An overactive adrenal gland produces excess amount of one or more of the hormones that the adrenal gland normally produces resulting in disease states that are characteristics of the particular hormonal excess.
Cortisol excess:
Known as Cushings syndrome/disease. Too much cortisol can result from excess production from the adrenal glands or from excess adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) from the pituitary gland or an ACTH producing cancer (eg lung cancer). Symptoms of this is the same as people who have taken prolonged steroid therapy. Sufferers typically have upper body obesity, round faces, increased fat around the neck, and thin arms and legs. It has been increasingly recognised that a subgroup of patients may have excess production of cortisol but not to the level of developing overt Cushings disease. These patients often suffer from hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia (excess lipids). Left untreated a proportion of patients will continue to develop overt Cushings disease.
Aldosterone excess:
Also known as hyperaldosteronism. Excess aldosterone may be produced from an abnormal adrenal gland or glands. Two types of abnormalities are seen: a benign tumour of one adrenal, called an adenoma, Conn's syndrome or a general enlargement of both adrenals, called bilateral adrenal hyperplasia. The result of this is in the majority of cases (60%) hypertension that may be accompanied with low potassium. A significant number of people may be completely asymptomatic.
Androgen excess:
This hormone in excess can cause hirsutism which is excessive hair growth especially on the chin, lip, sideburns, breasts, sternum, the midline between the umbilicus and the pubis and the thigh. Severe acne and in extreme female cases, virilisation (male features) which is characterised by temporal balding, breast atrophy, clitoral enlargement, deepening of the voice, and extreme hirsutism.
Adrenaline and noradrenaline excess:
Known as pheochromocytoma. The classical symptoms are those attributable to excess adrenaline production. Essentially sufferers will have recurring attacks of sweating, headache, nausea, vomiting, difficult to control hypertension, racing heart rate, tremors, chest or abdominal pains, headache and a feeling of high anxiety liken to impending death. Not infrequently sufferers may have been labeled to have panic attacks. Patients often have very high blood pressures that are difficult to control (requiring more than 4 blood pressure medications).
