Reading health news articles June 30, 2009
Posted by admin in : Articles , comments closedReading Health News ArticlesAuthor: Steven Smith
If you want to stay up to date with the current trends in health, it would help to read at least one or two health news articles daily. Even if you are under the care of a good general practitioner, you can never be sure that he is aware of all the latest in health news. Health articles sometimes need months, even years, before they generate enough popularity for people to take note of them. It seems that people who read health newsletters, health bloggers, and health pioneers are the only ones able to keep abreast of the most recent developments.
Regular reading of health articles is beneficial especially if you are dealing with any chronic health problem. Scientists researching on the many different diseases are on the verge of finding a cure. Reports are made almost everyday about a new radical treatment for AIDS, cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. There are diseases deemed hopeless just a few years ago that can now be treated with newly formulated drugs and other unconventional methods.
Needless to say, caution is necessary when reading any health article particularly if the item was penned by a journalist without any scientific or medical background. Health articles are usually slanted towards promises of miraculous cures, which would only be disproved later. An ordinary reporter may reference the health article on complicated research studies that are often times beyond his comprehension. Thus, it comes as no surprise if the report will focus on the therapeutic claims scientists make while remaining silent on the veracity of such claims. Even preliminary findings are presented as if they are already the conclusions and recommendations.
Therefore, you need to make sure before following any of the recommendations given in a health article. When you are able to distinguish the good from the bad, you will find that there are many health articles that include sensible advice. You can learn on ways of getting the best workout, choosing the foods to eat or avoid to alleviate seasonal problems, and similar things. However, be wary about health articles that sound too good to be true. If you are interested about a miracle cure mentioned in a health article, it is best that you talk with your physician before experimenting with it. Being skeptical is good once in a while if only to be realistic. It will also prevent you from trying every new thing that comes out. On the other hand, if a health article sounds really convincing, logical and right, you may do test it out. Health article recommendations are, at the very least, unlikely to be harmful. For all you know, it could be the miracle cure you are waiting for.
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Am i hypoglycemic? June 29, 2009
Posted by admin in : Articles , comments closedAm I Hypoglycemic?
by: Damian Muirhead
Dear reader, Thank you for taking the time out to read this article from the Overcoming Hypoglycemia Ezine Also accompanying this Ezine is the Overcoming Hypoglycemia website which can be found at http://www.hypoglycemia-diet-plan.com as well as the Overcoming Hypoglycemia Ebook which you can find out more about at: http://www.hypoglycemia-diet-plan.com/hypoglycemia-ebook-information.html
Ok so lets get started! Are you actually Hypoglycemic?
The first thing you probably need to know is if you are actually hypoglycemic and how it is possible to find out for sure. There are 3 main ways people normally find out if they are hypoglycemic these are: 1)A Glucose Tolerance Test.
2)Diagnosis from a doctor/nutritionist
3)Self diagnosis based on questionnaire and observation of symptoms
Now each of these methods have their advantages and disadvantages but due to the fact that less and less qualified doctors seem to be recognising Hypoglycemia as a legitimate condition more and more people are forced to rely on self diagnosis.
In this Ezine edition I wanna focus on method three: self diagnosis.
Self Diagnosis Self Diagnosis means just that, making an informed decision yourself as to whether or not you actually have hypoglycemia. The main way of doing this is based on your symptoms. The easiest way to begin to self diagnose is make a list of the symptoms you get which you feel are related to your diet. These symptoms could be many but list them all down. Probable symptoms include headaches tiredness and cravings for sweet foods. When you have listed these symptoms compare them to the ones found at:
http://www.hypoglycemia-diet-plan.com and http://www.hypoglycemia-diet-plan.com/hypoglycemia-diagnosis.html
If you have at least three of these symptoms then Hypoglycemia seems probable. It is of course not possible to diagnose solely on a few symptoms, for a more detailed and accurate way of determining whether or not you have Hypoglycemia check out my ebook at:
http://www.hypoglycemia-diet-plan.com/hypoglycemia-ebook-information.html where you find all the tools you need to both diagnose and beat your Hypoglycemia including important reasons why it is not necessary to put yourself through a gruelling Glucose Tolerance Test to find out whether or not you have Hypoglycemia.
So Until next time
Damian
PS: In my next issue ill be informing you of the foods you MUST avoid in order to beat your hypoglycemia. But if you can’t wait until then grab your copy of my ebook today! PPS I have reduced my book from $39.95 to $19.95 for a limited time only so grab yours ASAP to get the reduced price!!!
http://www.hypoglycemia-diet-plan.com/hypoglycemia-ebook-information.html
Sign up for this Ezine at: http://www.hypoglycemia-diet-plan.com
Damian Muirhead
http://www.hypoglycemia-diet-plan.com
To find other free health content see e-healtharticles.com
http://www.e-healtharticles.com/Detailed/Diabetes/Am_I_Hypoglycemic_J3570.html
Seeds of oats, barley, wheat, and rice June 28, 2009
Posted by admin in : Articles , comments closedTHE GOOD farming practices that are needed for a successful cereal crop are the same whether the crop is grown for feed or seed.
The seeds of small-grained cereals can be produced on nearly all soil types that are well drained and relatively productive.
All cereals yield more seed if they are planted in a well-prepared seedbed that has 2 or 3 inches of mellow surface soil. The surface should be slightly rough to guard against soil movement by water or wind. A good seedbed will help the young plants to emerge promptly and vigorously and compete with weeds. Oats make good growth with less preparation of soil than wheat, barley, and rice.
The first step in the successful production of cereal seed is careful selection of the seeds to be planted. Unadapted seed can be expensive to the farmer.
Carelessness in selecting seeds may mean that the oat field is full of wild oats, a field of winter wheat contains much rye, red rice comes up in a cultivated rice field, or noxious weeds abound in a planting of any of the small cereals.
The production of seeds of small cereals for farmers or seed producers in other areas is not a large enterprise. It is usually a specialty of occasional growers, who are the only ones who should grow a variety not adapted to their own sections. Most growers grow seed adapted to the area in which they are grown.
In some seasons of bad weather or sudden changes in crop acreages, sizable amounts of seed are moved into areas of short supply.
Spring wheat and barley survive in the mild winter climates of the Deep South and the Pacific coast, but plantings in the fall under more rigorous climatic conditions generally end in a poor crop or none.
The hardier winter wheats and barley, if spring planted, will not head or will produce low yields. The buyer must know the variety he buys and its adaptation.
A REGULAR seed producer should plant only adapted varieties, certified to be true to variety and free of noxious weeds and disease. Because the cost of producing seed is much more than the cost of producing cereal grains for feed or food, a grower of seed must plant the best seed he can get. If he grows a crop to maturity and it then fails to meet seed standards, he may realize only the actual cost of production.
Seed should always be treated with a fungicide to guard against smut and other seedborne diseases. Where loose smut is a problem in wheat or barley, only smut-free seed should be used unless the producer has access to equipment for adequate treatment with hot water.
The most reliable source of seed is the certified, registered, or foundation seed recommended and labeled by the experiment station or crop improvement association of the grower’s area.
The income per acre from cereals grown for seed is considerably higher than that of those grown for grain and will more than compensate the grower for the extra labor and the higher cost of production.
CEREALS should follow a cultivated crop whenever possible, because that helps to control weeds. Cereals planted for seed should never be planted on land containing noxious weeds. Since it is impossible to clean a field contaminated with mixture of other cereals by roguing, such crop rotation as will leave the fields free of that type of volunteer is imperative.
Little cross-pollination occurs in cereal crops, and isolation is not necessary, but there must be an alleyway between two crops wide enough to enable harvesting without mixture.
In the eastern, southeastern, and Corn Belt areas, it is quite easy to grow any one of the spring cereals immediately following a cultivated row crop. Oats are commonly planted in the Corn Belt the season following a crop of corn.
In sections where winter barley and oats are raised, either may follow cotton. If the winter cereals are to follow a cover crop of lespedeza or other legumes, the field should be plowed at least a month before seeding time for the development of a firm seedbed. Disking or other shallow cultivation is needed to complete preparation of the seed bed.
In the drier parts of the Great Plains, to produce a seed crop of winter wheat without mixtures of volunteer small grains requires planting on land on which grass or a legume crop has been grown.
If spring cereals have to be planted following a summer fallow, a satisfactory crop usually can be produced by a spring cultivation late enough to destroy volunteer grain and weed seedlings before planting.
Wherever corn or sorghum are grown and harvested for ensilage, winter wheat can be seeded without danger of serious mixtures. Summer fallowing is usual every other year in the western sections and the drylands of the Great Plains.
Seed production of cereals usually follows a row crop in the Southwestern States. Two crops of the same species of cereal should not follow one another in the production of seed, except when a certified variety is grown on a field that was used the preceding year to produce certified, registered, or foundation seed of that same variety.
Successful yields have been had in many sections by planting in rows spaced far enough apart to allow cultivation. That practice may be used if unfavorable weather makes it necessary to plant a cereal crop on land that will be quite weedy.
A GOOD METHOD of weed control is through crop rotation and cultivation. If the land is known to contain quite a lot of seeds of any weedsas often happens following a noncultivated legume cropcultivation shortly before planting usually destroys enough of the germinated weed seeds to allow the grain to germinate and grow fast enough to control the situation.
It is good farming practice to control weeds in fence rows, turn rows, levees in irrigated fields, and other places where there is little or no plant competition. If an unavoidable condition lets a heavy stand of small weeds germinate and emerge at about the time the grain does, working the field with a rotary hoe or a spike-tooth harrow sometimes helps.
If cereals are planted without being used as a companion crop to legumes or grass, fields can be sprayed with 2,4-D or other chemical sprays for killing weeds. This should be done just before the crop is in the boot stage, which is just before the stems elongate and expose nodes. Because oats and rice are more susceptible to damage after the seed heads start to emerge from the boot, the time of application is extremely important.
If a field of cereals has many large weeds at maturity, spraying with 2,4-D will dry the weeds so that the crop can be combined and stored without damage from excessive moisture. Good farm practices are better than chemicals for the control of weeds.
The grower of cereals is familiar with the recommended rates, dates, and depths of seeding for his area and their modification for his use.
It is quite handy, however, to have a simple method of checking the rate of seeding of his drill: Put the drill in gear and drive a short distance on hard ground. Seeding rate for oats at one-fourth bushel per acre at spacings of 6, 7, or 8 inches will be 1.2, 1.4, and 1.6 kernels per foot, respectively. Wheat will be 2.0, 2.3, and 2.7 per foot. Barley will be 1.7, 2.0, and 2.3 per foot. For example, if 2 bushels of oats are considered a correct seeding rate in a 6-inch drill, there should be 7.2 kernels per foot, which would show a correct calibration.
When cereals are grown under irrigation, soil moisture should be sufficient at seeding time so that the growth will shade the ground by the time of the first irrigation.
SEEDING CEREALS with a grain drill is the most satisfactory method of planting for seed production. It assures a uniform seeding at the proper depth. It puts the seed in moist ground, assures uniform emergence of good stands, and gives the crop a good start in the competition with weeds.
The grower should have some equipment with which to clean a drillbox thoroughly between varieties of cereals planted for seed. A vacuum cleaner may be the easiest to use. Cleaning can be done by running the drill until the seedbox is practically empty and then blowing out the last few kernels from each cup with compressed air. That can be done with a small hand bellows.
If it is suspected that the last crop seeded by a drill contained smut-infected seed, it may be advisable to wash the drill with a solution of a seed-disinfectant chemical.
The drill most commonly used in the United States is the single disk drill with row spacings of 6, 7, or 8 inches.
A hoe-type opener with spring release is sometimes used on rocky land in place of the disk opener. When seeding cereals for seed production with this type of drill, a good practice is to close one or two of the center drill cups in order to facilitate roguing of mixtures from the field.
A GOOD CROP rotation is necessary in all areas for maximum production of seed or grain.
Excellent yields of wheat for food and feed have been produced on well-fertilized land planted to a wheat crop for 3 years. The grower of seed, however, cannot plant wheat or other cereals more than 1 year in succession.
How much fertilizer to apply on cereal crops depends on the soil and the rotation system. The producer of cereal seeds is concerned with fertilizer, as it influences the total yield and viability. Barnyard manure or commercial fertilizers usually are more profitable when they are applied to a high-income crop in a rotation.
If the cropping system involves only cereals or one cereal and fallow, barnyard manure must be applied at least one season ahead of the planting for seed production so that weed or other cereal seeds can be destroyed before the seed crop is planted.
There is little evidence that the various forms of fertilizer show significant differences in yields. The farmer therefore should buy the form that is most economical and feasible for him to use. In many instances he can apply the fertilizer with a fertilizer attachment to his grain drill and thus save the cost of a separate operation.
As the total income anticipated per acre for seed is more than that of grain for other commercial purposes, slightly higher rates of fertilizer may sometimes be justified.
Cereal crops grown in areas of high rainfall or under irrigation can profitably utilize heavy applications of commercial fertilizer.
Rates of nitrogen fertilizer as high as 120 pounds of actual nitrogen to the acre have given profitable yield increases on new soils of low fertility where ample water was available.
Cereal crops planted following sorghum require considerably higher rates of fertilizer than when they follow corn. Grass seed fields leave an unusually heavy root crown residue and require exceptionally high applications of nitrogen to aid the decay of the residue and leave enough nitrogen for a crop. If the preceding crop is a broad-leaved plant and has been heavily fertilized, high yields of cereals can be produced with the fertilizer carryover.
Wheat will utilize more nitrogen fertilizer than barley, oats, and rice. When cool weather follows planting of small cereals, 20 to 30 pounds of actual nitrogen plus phosphate are recommended to carry through a period when plant nutrients are not readily available.
Accurate dates and rates of application are available from experiment stations and extension services.
THE FIRST TIME a seedgrower starts a roguing crew in the field he will become aware of the value of leaving a walkway in the field from which they can operate.
Seldom are single-tillered plants produced in seed production. The primary tiller invariably heads earlier and grows taller than secondary tillers. A roguing crew should be trained to examine carefully and remove the complete plant, because the later tillers will not grow tall enough to be easily observed.
There are three periods when mixtures can be observed more readily than at others: When the head or panicle is just emerging from the boot (mixtures of earlier maturing grains are easily recognized); when plants are just headed and before lodging is likely (offtypes, particularly bearded cereals, are easily recognized); and when a field is mature (mixtures of differences in color or head position, such as curved neck, can be spotted and taken out if lodging is not serious).
Many seedgrowers find it advisable to have the roguers just ahead of the harvesting equipment where mixtures can be observed readily and are easy to get at.
Walking through a ripe grainfield, even though walkways or alleys have been provided, is difficult and destroys a considerable amount of grain by shattering.
Practically never is it possible to grow a cereal crop for seed without roguing the mixtures of offtypes or other cereal contaminants. When the cereal has been planted in rows of 12 inches or more apart, roguing often can be done without walkways.
HARVESTING the seeds is as important as raising the crop.
Improper methods and poor adjustment and operation of harvesting equipment can result in contamination of the seed, excessive losses, and low germination.
Only a small acreage of grain now is harvested with a binder and threshed with a stationary threshing machine. The combine has taken their place.
Collected samples of cereals for storage experiments show practically all seeds to have a quite high count of organisms on the surface. When grain is stored with a moisture content above 12 percent, the air is often humid enough in a sizable pile of grain to start most organisms to grow. This growth will tend to create a considerable rise in temperature and, if the bin is not carefully checked, may mean serious damage to the germination of the stored seed crop. If a careful check shows a rise in temperature, it may be well to remove the grain from the bin and run it through a cleaning mill before putting it back.
Unless adequate drying equipment is available, seed grain should not be threshed until it can be stored safely at a moisture content near 12 percent.
If grain is combined directly from the field and a device for testing moisture is not at hand, moisture can be estimated in the following way: Barley should be ripe and dry enough that kernels bitten with the teeth will snap and appear chalky inside. Oats are ready to combine 7 days after they first appear to be dry and ripe. Wheat can be tested by grasping the base of the head between the finger and thumb of one hand, placing the point of the head against the palm of the other hand, bending it slightly, and rotating it rapidly. At least three-fourths of the heads tested should shell out.
The moisture content of standing rice usually is tested by devices to determine when to begin harvesting milling rice. The same practice should be followed for harvesting fields of rice seed.
Considerable experimental evidence indicates that when rice and small grains are cut or threshed at contents of moisture of seed greater than 20 percent, there is a reduction in the percentage of seed that will germinate.
Men at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station recommend that seed rice be harvested when the moisture content is 18 percent or less.
WHEAT SHOULD NOT be harvested above a kernel moisture of 20 percent in order to maintain a high germination. This is a recommendation of William H. Johnson, of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, after 3 years of experiments on the combine harvesting of wheat. The same recommendation applies to the harvesting of barley and oats for seed.
When it is necessary to dry a seed crop artificially, the temperature of the drying air should not be greater than 110 F. The independent relation between relative humidity of the drying air and the reduction in germination in small grains has not been established. It is known, however, that the loss of germination tends to increase as air of lower humidity is used to dry the grain.
THE POSSIBILITY of contamination of the harvested seed with other crop and weed seeds can be greatly reduced by thoroughly cleaning all seeding, harvesting, and seed-handling equipment before seeding or harvesting operations are started.
A portable source of compressed air is helpful in cleaning seeding equipment, combine harvesters, stationary threshers, grain elevators, binders, and windrowers.
Seeder or drill boxes and their seed metering units, as well as the tubes and boots, must be cleaned thoroughly to remove seeds of other crops before planting the seed field. All sieve and canvas drapers should be removed from the harvesting machinery and cleaned.
Opening inspection doors and elevator boots and running each piece of machinery empty at rated speed is helpful in removing seed lodged in and around moving parts.
The equipment can be washed with water when compressed air is not available. Attention must be given to the lubrication of bearings immediately after washing.
The seedgrower should always have a copy of the operator’s manual for his make and model of combine or stationary thresher. His machinery dealer should be able to supply it. The operator must understand the operation and adjustment of the machine if he expects to harvest the maximum amount of high-quality seed.
The germinating quality of harvested seed is closely related to the amount of cracked, broken, and internally damaged seed. Cylinder speed is normally the main cause of this type of damage. The use of grain blowers to handle the harvested seed also is a factor.
THE ACCOMPANYING table lists a range of cylinder speeds and concave adjustments that will give adequate threshing, without excessive damage to the seed.
The peripheral speed of the cylinder depends on the cylinder diameter and cylinder shaft speed. The larger the cylinder, the slower the shaft needs to turn for a given peripheral speed.
When the cylinder speed is given in feet per minute, the required cylinder r.p.m. (revolutions per minute) can be computed by dividing the cylinder peripheral speed by the product of 3.14 times the cylinder diameter in feet.
THE GERMINATING quality of the harvested seed can also be seriously reduced by grain blowers. That is a result of the same type of damage that is caused by excessive cylinder speed. The impeller shaft speed of the grain blower should be checked and adjusted, if necessary, to the speed recommended by the manufacturer for the particular application.
Feeding the grain blower at considerably lower than the rated handling rates can also result in damage to the grain even when the blower is operated at the proper speed.
The speed of the cylinder and the clearance between the cylinder and concave bars (or the number of rows of teeth in the concave and the overlap between cylinder and concave teeth) should be such that an occasional seed remains in the head and there is little cracked grain in the seed when it is harvested.
The open, bar-type, concave grate should be open to allow maximum separation of seed from the straw at the concaveexcept when harvesting a seed crop that is difficult to thresh and the straw breaks up badly. Then part or all of the grate should be closed to reduce the amount of chaff going over the shoe as well as increase the threshing action of the cylinder.
Crop
Cylinder speed, f.p.m. (feet per minute) Cylinder-concave clearance (inch) Rows of teeth in concave Barley (6-row varieties) 4,800 to 5,600 1/4 to 1/2 2 to 4 Barley (2-row varieties) 3,200 to 4,000 1/4 to 1/2 2 to 4 Wheat 4,500 to 5,500 3/8 to 5/8 2 to 4 Oats 5,000 to 6,000 1/4 to 5/8 2 to 4 Rice 3,800 to 4,800 1/4 to 5/8 3 to 6INCREASING the cylinder speed or overlap between the cylinder and concave teeth, reducing the clearance between bar-type cylinders and concaves, or increasing the number of teeth in the concave will all increase the amount of threshing.
An increase in cylinder speed, however, will increase rapidly the amount of damaged seed, even if there is adequate clearance for the seeds in the cylinder.
Increasing the number of teeth in the concave or reducing the cylinder concave clearance generally will not noticeably increase the amount of seed damage until the minimum clearance is about the same as the largest dimension of the seed.
Spike-tooth cylinder teeth should be centered on the concave teeth, and worn cylinder bars or bent concaves should be replaced, so that a uniform clearance is maintained between the cylinder and concave bars.
Better bearding of varieties that have suffered from hot weather or lack of moisture during the seed-forming period can be accomplished by reducing the clean grain sieve opening and thereby returning a high percentage of the seed to the cylinder for re-threshing.
THE COST and time spent in growing and harvesting a seed crop make it quite expensive. It would be foolish to ruin it by using poor equipment to unload it into granaries.
A wind elevator operated with too much pressure can cause enough mechanical injury to make the crop worthless for seed purposes. Damage also may result if auger equipment is run at excessive speeds. The operation of such equipment should be thoroughly checked. A trial run should be made before they are used.
Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/authors/490/Alfred-Stefferudhttp://www.healthguidance.org/entry/6432/1/Seeds-of-Oats-Barley-Wheat-and-Rice.html
Things to know before lap band surgery June 25, 2009
Posted by admin in : Articles , comments closedThings To Know Before Lap Band SurgeryAuthor: Jerry Glynn
Lap band surgery is a treatment option for severely obese individuals who have not been able to achieve success with conventional forms of weight loss. There are many benefits to this type of treatment when compared to traditional gastric bypass surgical procedures, but this surgery should only be undertaken with the advice of a physician and is not for everyone.
There are three main categories of bariatric surgical procedures, which include predominately malabsorptive procedures, predominately restrictive procedures, and mixed procedures, which include some characteristics of the two previous types. Predominately malabsorbative procedures are rare, but used to be the most common type. Due to the long term need for nutritional follow up care, and other health and safety factors, most physicians will not perform these procedures. As dramatic as the results achieved through bariatric surgery may be, it is important to remember that it is only a tool, and does not fix weight problems in and of itself.
In general, qualifying criteria include being at least eighteen years of age, seventy five pounds above your ideal weight, a body mass index of 40 or greater or 35 or greater, depending on certain health conditions. Candidates must also not be suffering from any disease that may have caused or contributed to their obesity and must be prepared to make significant lifestyle changes.
During this procedure, a gastric banding device is inserted via tiny incisions in the abdomen and positioned around the upper part of the stomach to create n effect a new stomach and lower stomach capacity. This procedure involves no cutting, or stapling of the stomach, can be adjusted to the needs of the patient, is fully reversible, and entails a short hospital stay.
Before your lap band surgery, it is recommended that you continue or begin an exercise program, make healthy food choices, and give up smoking and drinking all carbonated beverages, including alcohol. The amount of weight you lose depends on your adherence to the instructions set forth by your physician.
The gastric band will not make you feel deprived, because it reduces the size of your stomach. If you follow the provided nutrition guidelines and chew your food well, you should not feel deprived. Eating foods that contain large amounts of sugar, however, may reduce or negate the benefits of the gastric band. The lap band is not meant to be removed, but can be, although surgeons report that the stomach usually returns to its normal size after this procedure. If you become pregnant while wearing the band, it can be loosened to accommodate your nutritional needs.
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Disorders of the adrenal glands June 24, 2009
Posted by admin in : Articles , comments closedDISORDERS OF THE ADRENAL GLANDS
What are the adrenal glands?
The adrenal glands are the part of the body responsible for releasing three different classes of hormones. These hormones control many important functions in the body, such as:
Maintaining metabolic processes, such as managing blood sugar levels and regulating inflammationRegulating the balance of salt and waterControlling the “fight or flight” response to stressMaintaining pregnancyInitiating and controlling sexual maturation during childhood and puberty
The adrenal glands are also an important source of sex steroids, such as estrogen and testosterone.
What are adrenal gland disorders?
Adrenal gland disorders occur when the adrenal glands dont work properly.
Sometimes, the cause is a problem in another gland that helps to regulate the adrenal gland. In other cases, the adrenal gland itself may have the problem. Some examples include:
Cushing’s Syndrome - Cushings syndrome happens when a persons body is exposed to too much of the hormone cortisol. In this syndrome, a persons body makes more cortisol than it needs. For example, adrenal tumours can cause the body to produce too much cortisol. In some cases, children are born with a form of adrenal hyperplasia that leads to Cushing syndrome. Or, in some cases, certain medications can cause the body to make too much cortisol
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia - Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is a genetic disorder of adrenal gland deficiency. In this disorder, the body doesnt make enough of the hormone cortisol. The bodies of people with congenital adrenal hyperplasia may also have other hormone imbalances, such as not making enough aldosterone, but making too much androgen.
Pituitary tumours - The pituitary gland is located in the brain and helps to regulate the activity of most other glands in the body, including the adrenal glands. In rare cases, benign (non-cancerous) tumours may grow on the pituitary gland, which may restrict the hormones it releases.
In some cases, tumours on the pituitary can lead to Cushings syndrome this is called Cushing disease. In other cases, the tumours reduce the adrenal glands release of hormones needed for the “fight or flight” response to stress. If the body is unable to handle physiological stressa condition called Addisons diseaseit can be fatal.
What are the treatments for adrenal gland disorders?
The treatment for adrenal gland disorders depends on the specific disorder or the specific cause of the disorder. For example:
The treatment for Cushings syndrome depends on the cause. If the excess cortisol is caused by medication, your health care provider can change dosages or try a different medication to correct the problem. If the Cushings syndrome is caused by the body making too much cortisol, treatments may include oral medication, surgery, radiation, or a combination of these treatments.
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia cant be cured, but it can be treated and controlled. People with congenital adrenal hyperplasia can take medication to help replace the hormones their bodies are not making. Some people with congenital adrenal hyperplasia only need these medications when they are sick, but others may need to take them every day.
Doctors can successfully treat most pituitary tumours with microsurgery, radiation therapy, surgery, drugs, or a combination of these treatments. Surgery is currently the treatment of choice for tumours that grow rapidly, especially if they threaten or affect vision. The treatment plan for other pituitary tumours differs according to the type and size of the tumour.