Hypoadrenia overview
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Hypoadrenia Microchapters |
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Hypoadrenia overview On the Web |
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Hypoadrenia is a term for a hypothesised condition of the adrenal glands. The terms adrenal exhaustion or adrenal fatigue are often used (and connected to hypoadrenia) by complementary and alternative therapists, but are not formal medical terms.
The adrenal glands are part of the body's mechanism for short term stress response and management, they are involved in the production of the hormone adrenaline (also known as epinephrine), the famous fight or flight chemical released in stressful situations, which increases the body's metabolic rate and muscular contraction strength. Along with the thyroid gland they are also part of the body's metabolic energy regulation and control system, and thus control to an extent the energy available to body systems.
It has been theorized by alternative medical practitioners that under conditions of long term stress, the adrenal glands can become less responsive to circumstance, or maladapted, and cease to function optimally, leading to a wide (but slightly vague) range of fatigue and stress related conditions including a greater likelihood of psychological conditions such as depression and possibly certain other mood disorders. However, it is important to note that this theory has not yet gained acceptance within mainstream medicine.