The adrenal glands are the triangle-shaped glands that rest over the kidneys.

Adrenal gland function
The main function of the adrenal glands is to regulate the stress response through the making of corticosteroids and catecholamines, including cortisol and adrenaline.

Adrenal fatigue diagnosis
Adrenal fatigue is a common diagnosis presented to me by patients. I often have a patient tell me that they have adrenal fatigue. They assume the cause of their low mood and energy is due to adrenal fatigue although the cause of their symptoms may be from quite a different source.

Adrenal insufficiency from Addison's Disease
Addison's disease (or adrenal insufficiency) usually results from an autoimmune response that destroys the adrenal glands. The symptoms of Addison's disease are loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, weakness, vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea. Other signs include a suntanned appearance, intolerance for stress, and a craving for salty food. The treatment of Addison's disease entails lifelong replacement of the steroid hormones produced by the adrenals, usually with hydrocortisone or cortisone.

Subscribe to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter. Twice a month we email a brief abstract of several studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics, including adrenal gland conditions, and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Click on the image to get a FREE bottle of Diet Rx appetite suppressant.

High Quality products formulated by a medical doctor
These include Mind Power Rx for mental focus, concentration, and mood; Diet Rx with hoodia, green tea extract, which helps you eat less. It really works to curb appetite; Good Night Rx for better sleep; Eyesight Rx for better vision; MultiVit Rx a daily comprehensive multivitamin with Vitamin B for more energy and vitality; Joint Power Rx for healthy joints; Prostate Power Rx for a healthy prostate gland; Passion Rx for sexual enhancement in men and women.

Adrenal Gland disorder - Adrenal Dysfunction
Cushing's Syndrome is an endocrine disorder caused by excess corticosteroid hormones produced by the adrenal glands.

Adrenal Gland tumor - Adrenal Gland Cancer
A Tumor of the adrenal glands can be benign or malignant. Adrenal tumors arise from either the adrenal medulla or the adrenal cortex. The three common adrenal tumors are Pheochromocytomas, Paragangliomas and Adrenocortical carcinoma. These adrenal cancers may produce excessive quantities of hormones such as cortisol or aldosterone.

Adrenal Gland Function
The adrenal glands work with the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. The hypothalamus produces corticotropin-releasing hormones, which stimulate the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland, in turn, produces corticotropin hormones, which stimulate the adrenal glands to produce corticosteroid or steroid hormones. Both parts of the adrenal glands -- the adrenal cortex and the adrenal medulla -- perform very separate functions.

Adrenal gland disorders
There are several conditions that are classsified as adrenal gland disorders. These include:
Addison's disease
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Adrenal cancer
Adrenal insufficiency
Pheochromocytoma
Neuroblastoma

Adrenal Adenoma
Adrenal surgery is necessary for the management of functioning adrenal tumors, such as aldosterone -producing adenoma, cortisol -producing adenoma, and pheochromocytoma.

Adrenal Insufficiency - Adrenal exhaustion
Defective production of adrenal steroids due to either primary adrenal failure or hypothalamic-pituitary impairment of the corticotrophic axis causes adrenal insufficiency. Depending on the etiologies of adrenal insufficiency, clinical manifestations may be severe or mild, have gradual or sudden onset, begin in infancy or childhood/adolescence. Adrenal crisis represents an endocrine emergency, and thus the rapid recognition and prompt therapy for adrenal crisis are critical for survival even before the diagnosis is made. The recognition of various disorders that cause adrenal insufficiency, either at a clinical or molecular level, often has implications for the management of the patient.

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is an adrenal disease that affects adrenal gland function, resulting in abnormal steroidogenesis caused by a deficiency or complete lack of the enzyme 21-hydroxylase (accounting for 90% of CAH cases). Clinical manifestations include ambiguous genitalia in female newborns and life-threatening salt-wasting crisis in both male and female newborns.

Adrenal mass
The detection of adrenal lesions has increased with the wider use of cross-sectional imaging. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is often useful for characterizing adrenal masses. Adrenal masses can be classified into various groups on the basis of the presence of intracellular lipid, macroscopic fat, hemorrhage, and cystic changes and the vascularity and shape of the tumor. Some adrenal masses include adenoma, adrenal hyperplasia, simple and complicated cysts, lymphangioma, myelolipoma, pheochromocytoma, hemorrhage, cortical carcinoma, neuroblastoma, lymphoma, and metastases. Adenomas and metastases are common.
adrenal support.

Adrenal Fatigue - what is it?
Adrenal fatigue is a term used by laypeople and certain non- M.D. healers. Sometimes the term is used when there are actual blood studies that show a person has an adrenal insufficiency, but most often the term adrenal fatigue is used by people who are tired and believe their fatigue is due to the adrenal glands. This fatigue may be due to the adrenal gland, but then again there are many other causes for fatigue, and it is easy to blame the adrenal gland by both laypeople and certain nutritionists and non M.D. doctors and healers.
   I don't like to use the term adrenal fatigue since it is vague, unless actual blood studies show an adrenal hormone deficiency. However, there may be cases of mild adrenal gland insufficiency which is not easily diagnosed by blood studies, and in these cases on could loosely use the term adrenal fatigue. This may occur after periods of intense or prolonged physical or emotional stress, although in these cases other organ systems are likely to be affected, not just the adrenal glands.

Adrenal gland and vitamin C
Human adrenal glands secrete vitamin C in response to adrenocorticotrophic hormone.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 86, No. 1, 145-149, July 2007. Sebastian J Padayatty, John L Doppman, Richard Chang, Yaohui Wang, John Gill, Dimitris A Papanicolaou and Mark Levine. From the Molecular and Clinical Nutrition Section, Digestive Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD; the Diagnostic Radiology Department, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD; and the Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether paracrine secretion of vitamin C from the adrenal glands occurs.
During diagnostic evaluation of 26 patients with hyperaldosteronism, we administered adrenocorticotrophic hormone intravenously and measured vitamin C and cortisol in adrenal and peripheral veins. Conclusions: Adrenocorticotrophic hormone stimulation increases adrenal vein but not peripheral vein vitamin C concentrations. These data are the first in humans showing that hormone-regulated vitamin secretion occurs and that adrenal vitamin C paracrine secretion is part of the stress response. Tight control of peripheral vitamin C concentration is permissive of higher local concentrations that may have paracrine functions.

Adrenal Disease and Intelligence
Women born with adrenal disease often show impairment of mental function. Adrenal "hyperplasia" encompasses a group of inherited disorders in which the adrenal glands produce inadequate levels of steroid hormones. Although adrenal disease can have serious, even fatal consequences, it can be effectively treated with hormone replacement. Researchers enrolled 35 women between 17 and 51 years old born with adrenal disease and the same number of healthy comparison subjects from the general population. They were tested using an abbreviated form of the Wechsler IQ test. Congenital adrenal disease patients had a significantly lower overall IQ score than did healthy subjects. This was also true of verbal IQ and performance IQ.

Adrenal Gland emails
Q. I bought a product that claims it is an adrenal gland support formula. Do these adrenal gland products work?
   A. There are many herbal supplement products that claim to support the adrenal gland. I am not sure exactly what is meant by the term "adrenal gland support." I am not aware of any studies where an "adrenal support" product was given to a group of volunteers and then their adrenal gland hormones measured to see if the product boosted an adrenal gland hormone deficiency.

Q. Would DHEA or pregnenolone be helpful supplement hormones in those with adrenal gland disease?
   A. If the adrenal gland disease is Addison's disease, then DHEA could be helpful. Perhaps pregnenolone could also be quite helpful although research is quite limited with this hormone in relation to adrenal gland disorders.

Q. I just signed up for your newsletter. I am reseching the phrase ' elevated cortisol and adrenal burnout'. I have seen the phrase used frequently as well as 'adrenal fatigue.' What do people mean by adrenal fatigue?
   A. See the above full discussion on the term adrenal fatigue. Adrenal burnout is another term used by laypeople to mean the general understanding of adrenal insufficiency.

Q. I read your articles on Pregnenolone and DHEA. Just a word of caution from my experience. I took 25 mg of Pregnenolone along with my other vitamins and a dose of Raw Adrenal Cortex from Enzymatic Therapy. The combination of Adrenal Cortex (freeze dried beef adrenal glands) and Pregnenolone produced a dangerous asthma-like allergic reaction and it was hard to breathe. My face puffed up and I started wheezing and gasping for air. It was very frightening. I had to take anti-histamines (Diphenhydramine 25 mg) to quiet it down again. DHEA has not had that reaction, but now when I do Adrenals, I only add a multi-vit and nothing else at the same time. Alone, each of these two supplements give me substantial benefits. But they should never be taken together. I suspect they both act on the adrenal glands and produce too much stimulation which results in an allergy-like reaction. One interesting result I had with the Adrenal Gland supplements - they closed the chapter on chronic sinus problems I've had since childhood. No more sinus issues. A permanent recovery. I took one bottle as directed, from Enzymatic Therapy "Raw Adrenal II" or similar product. This was a significant benefit.

Q. Would it be possible to use pregnenolone supplementation to give overworked adrenals a break? If so what might be an intelligent way to do it?
   A. We are not sure what is meant by overworked adrenal glands, this is something that is determined by blood tests not necessarily general symptoms which can be due to a number of other organ failures or problems.

Q. If someone has adrenal fatigue (low saliva cortisol all day), but yet their serum levels of DHEA have always been in a moderately high normal range for several years does that mean that pregnenolone is not needed since the DHEA is in a sufficient range. Can one have adequate DHEA and still need pregnenolone? Which is the best way to test the pregnenolone levels-saliva or serum?
   A. I don't consider the term " adrenal fatigue " very helpful for diagnosis or treatment. I prefer treating and evaluating the whole person and the symptoms and signs a person has rather than overly focusing on levels of hormones or blood studies. If adequate DHEA levels are present, then it is likely that adequate levels of pregnenolone are also present. Blood levels of pregnenolone are more consistent and easier to interpret than saliva levels.

Adrenal gland function