Antidiuretic Hormone ( ADH )

• Syndrome of Inappropriate ADH ( SIADH )

  • High levels of ADH

    • Virtually never urinating

• Diabetes Insipidus

  • Low levels of ADH

    • Urinating constantly

Luteinizing Hormone ( LH ) and Follicle Stimulating Hormone ( FSH )

• Amenorrhea = lack of a menstrual cycle

  • can occur from either too high or too low levels of LH / FSH

Prolactin ( PRL )

• High levels of PRL

  • Galactorrhea = spontaneous milk production

Growth Hormone ( GH )

• High levels

  • Before puberty = Pituitary gigantism
  • After puberty = Acromegaly

• Low levels

  • Pituitary dwarfism

    • proportional , but short in stature

T₃ and T₄

• High levels

  • Exophthalmos = protruding of the eyes

  • Goiter = enlarged thyroid gland

  • Caused by :

    • Grave's disease = autoantibodies that are agonists of TSH receptor

      • stimulates TSH -> causes high levels of T₃ and T₄

• Low levels

  • Caused by :

    • Primary hypothyroidism = thyroid can't synthesize T₃ and T₄

      • can lead to cretinism in unborn and infants
      • Hashimoto's disease = autoimmune destruction of thyroid gland

    • Secondary hypothyroidism = decreased levels of TRH or TSH

Parathyroid Hormone ( PTH )

• High levels

  • High blood calcium ( hypercalcemia )

  • Caused by Primary hyperparathyroidism

    • most are tumor related , some are idiopathic

• Low levels = hypocalcemia

  • seizures
  • muscle spasms

Aldosterone

• High levels

  • Caused by :

    • Primary Aldosteronism = Conn's Syndrome

      • Adrenal cortex tumor
      • Low renin due to negative feedback

    • Secondary Aldosteronism

      • High renin production

      • High ACTH

        • darkened skin

• Low levels

  • Caused by :

    • Addison's disease = autoimmune destruction of adrenal cortex

Cortisol

• High levels

  • Hyperglycemia = adrenal diabetes ( type 2 diabetes )

  • Excess glucose gets stored as fat = "moon face" and trunk "buffalo hump"

  • Muscle wasting , because loss of protein

  • Edema , because loss of protein / collagen

  • Caused by :

    • Cushing's syndrome

      • Due to Adrenal tumor
      • Due to prolonged corticosteroid use
      • High cortisol causes negative feedback to make Low blood ACTH

    • Cushing's disease

      • Caused by elevated ACTH from pituitary tumor

        • Darkened skin

• Low levels

  • Caused by :

    • Primary adrenal insufficiency

      • Addison's causes autoimmune destruction of zona fasciculata

        • Causes high blood ACTH

          • Negative feedback from low cortisol

            • Darkened skin

    • Secondary adrenal insufficiency

      • Inadequate secretion of ACTH

Androgens

• High levels

  • Caused by Adrenogenital syndrome

    • Inability to produce cortisol and aldostrone

      • Causes increased ACTH release via negative feedback

        • Leads to increased release of androgens

Insulin

• High levels

  • Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

    • Insulin resistance , decreased insulin sensitivity

• Low levels

  • Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

    • Auto-immune destruction of pancreatic beta cells

• Diabetic ketoacidosis

  • Combination of hyperglycemia and excess blood ketones

  • Starts with lack of insulin

    • aka type 1 diabetic fails to take insulin injection
    • or extreme stress that inhibits insulin production

  • Because of lack of insulin , patient becomes hyperglycemic

    • cells then don't have any glucose , so they resort to breaking down fatty acids and lipids

      • produces high amounts of ketones

        • ketones are acidic