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Adrenal Insufficiency

ACTH Resistance

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Part of the book series: Contemporary Endocrinology ((COE,volume 14))

Abstract

This chapter shall briefly review the recognized causes of primary adrenal failure, and then focus on those disorders that appear to result primarily from failure of the adrenal to respond to adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). Hypopituitarism may present clinically as apparent adrenal failure, but will not be discussed here. True ACTH resistance, as will be seen, is essentially the result of two distinct disease processes. The first of these was known originally as familial glucocorticoid deficiency, but subsequently was referred to by several terms, including isolated glucocorticoid deficiency and hereditary unrespon-siveness to ACTH. This chapter shall only use the first of these terms, which is abbre-viated as FGD. The second of the diseases to be discussed is the triple A syndrome or Allgrove’ s syndrome in which ACTH resistance is accompanied by alacrima (absence of tears) and achalasia of the cardia.

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Clark, A.J.L. (1999). Adrenal Insufficiency. In: Jameson, J.L. (eds) Hormone Resistance Syndromes. Contemporary Endocrinology, vol 14. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-698-0_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-698-0_13

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-5418-6

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