Diseases of the parathyroid glands

In the technical language called hyperparathyroidism, this is a disease in which the parathyroid glands produce and secrete too much parathyroid hormone. This is a hormone that is involved in the regulation of the calcium balance and increases the availability of calcium in the blood. The so-called hypoparathyroidism is an underfunction of the parathyroid gland, i.e. insufficient production and secretion of parathyroid hormone. This can lead to a lack of calcium ions in the body, which can cause negative neurological symptoms, among other things. The most common cause is surgical removal as part of thyroid resection, but other reasons such as autoimmune disease or chronic magnesium deficiency may also be possible.

Diseases of the adrenal glands

Addison’s disease is a so-called primary adrenal insufficiency. This rare but potentially fatal disease can occur in an acute or chronic form, in which the cells of the adrenal gland are destroyed. On the one hand, this leads to a reduced production of the mineral corikoid aldosterone, which has effects on the fluid and mineral balance.

On the other hand, an increased production of ACTH follows due to the disturbed regulatory circuit, which is reflected, among other things, in an over-pigmentation of the skin. If you would like to read more detailed information on this topic, please go to our main page on Addison’s disease. Pheochromocytoma is a tumor, usually located in the adrenal medulla, that produces nor- and adrenaline and rarely dopamine.

The symptoms are due to the resulting increased concentration of these hormones. Cushing’s disease is a disease of the pituitary gland (hypophysis), which produces too much of the hormone ACTH. Chushing’s disease is distinguished from the so-called Cushing’s syndrome, which was named after the same doctor.

In Cushing’s syndrome, however, there is a permanently increased concentration of cortisol in the body. This is primarily due to an excessive production of “liberins” in the higher-level control system, which also has a secondary effect on an increased concentration of cortisol. In Cushing’s disease, for example, the skin is overpigmented by a metabolic product of elevated ACTH. Clinically, the symptoms appear similar, even though they are two distinct clinical pictures.