Adrenal insufficiency - Definition and Overview

In medicine, adrenal insufficiency is the inability of the adrenal gland to produce adequate amounts of cortisol in response to stress.

Causes can include:

• Acute adrenal insufficiency
  • Addison's disease (autoimmune adrenalitis)
  • Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome
• Chronic adrenal insufficiency
  • Addison's disease
  • congenital adrenal hyperplasia
  • antiphospholipid syndrome
  • haemochromatosis