1. Addison’s Disease Miranda Chan, Aliny Ater, Nathania Rebong

2. What is Addison’s Disease? Addison Disease is an endocrine disorder affecting the body’s hormonal activity by decreasing the production of important hormones. prlog

3. Cause Addison’s Disease is caused by an autoimmune disorder, in which your immune system produces antibodies that attack your adrenal cortex. This causes the adrenal cortex to release insufficient amounts of cortisol and aldosterone.

4. Getting to know Cortisol… Cortisol targets the liver, muscles, skin and adipose tissues. In the liver, cortisol promotes gluconeogenesis. Within the muscles, cortisol promotes the breakdown of lean tissue into amino acids. In the skin, cortisol promotes vasoconstriction. In the adipose tissue, cortisol promotes the breakdown of fats into fatty acids and glycerol. Cortisol can also suppress the immune system.

5. Symptoms Fatigue Weakness Loss of appetite Weight gain Vomiting Diarrhea Nausea Low blood pressure Hyper pigmentation NIH Publication Fitnessgoop

6. What is Affected? Liver Muscles Skin Immune System

7. Kidport Flowchart

8. Treatment The main treatment is to replace the hormones that are lost by taking steroid preparation. Cortisol can be replaced by taking hydrocortisone tablets, and fluodrocortisone acetate tablets can substitute the aldosterone hormone. It is also advised to include an increased amount of salt in the patient’s diet. Pharma Division

9. Genetic or not? David DiSalvo, Forbes If both parents have endocrine disorders it is highly likely their child will obtain Addison’s disease Addison’s disease is not genetic however a certain piece of DNA coding has been found in a number of people with Addison’s disease that is also present in people with other autoimmune disorders. Research has suggested that up to half of all people with autoimmune Addison’s disease will likely have another autoimmune condition.

10. Community support If anyone you know is diagnosed with Addison’s Disease, please contact: The Canadian Addison Society 193 Elgin Avenue West Goderich, ON N7A 2E7 1-888-550-5582 Or visit http://www.addisonsociety.ca Metrolic

11. References 1."Addison's disease - Ottawa Regional Hospital and Healthcare Center."A.D.A.M Multimedia Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.. 2."Addison's disease - definition of Addison's disease in the Medical dictionary - by the Free Online Medical Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.." Medical Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. 3. "Addison's Disease - Symptoms, Tests, Treatment." Children's Hospital Boston. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. 4. "Addison's disease - MayoClinic.com."Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.. 5. "Addison's Disease - Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Diagnosis - Condition Factsheets - C-Health." C-Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2012..