Dr. Pradeep Kumar

Addison’s disease is a disorder caused due to significant damage in the adrenal cortex (located alongside the adrenal gland’s perimeter that helps mediate stress reaction), which leads to a deficiency in the secretion of the hormones ‘aldosterone’ (that regulates the sodium and potassium level of the body), ‘androgen’ and ‘cortisol’ (which control the body’s reaction in situations of intense pressure) by the adrenal glands.

Causes
There are generally two stages of Addison’s disease. The causes vary according to the stages:

In the primary stage of the disorder, the body’s immune system attacks the adrenal cortex and significantly damages it.

Other significant causes are as follows:

• This might occur as a result of the development of tumors and cancerous cells in the body
• Resulting from certain infections
• Long-term usage of glucocorticoids (inflammation reducing steroids) might result in the primary adrenal insufficiency
• This might also be caused due to tuberculosis or severe bleeding in the adrenal glands.

Risk Factors

If you’re suffering from any one of the following complications, your chances of contracting Addison’s disease increase significantly:

• Cancer or if you have undergone any surgery to remove parts of the adrenal gland
• Tuberculosis or diabetes.
• Frequent usage of coagulants

Treatments
The treatment of Addison’s disease varies according to the cause of the disorder.
The most common treatments for the disorder include:

• A prescribed dosage of glucocorticoids might be recommended
• Replacement of the hormones that the adrenal glands are unable to produce: Cortisone acetate or prednisone might be used in order to replace the ‘cortisol’ hormone.
• Meditation or other relaxing techniques to ease excessive stress levels or manage any trauma that you have been through. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an endocrinologist.

At a point when our bodies process the protein we eat, the procedure creates waste products. In kidneys, millions of tiny blood vessels act as filters since they have even tinier holes in them. As blood flows through these vessels, little molecules such as waste items may press through the gaps. These waste items turn out to be a part of the urine. Helpful substances, such as protein and red blood cells are too enormous to go through the gaps in the filter and stay in the blood.

Diabetes and kidneys: Diabetes can harm the kidneys. Abnormal amounts of glucose make the kidneys filter a lot of blood. After a couple of years, they begin to spill and helpful protein is thereby, lost in urine. Having low protein levels in the urine is called micro albuminuria.

Medication: When kidney disease is analyzed on time, during micro albuminuria, a few medications may keep kidney disease from getting worse. Having elevated levels of protein in the urine is called macro albuminuria. When kidney disease is looked up some other time during macro albuminuria, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) usually follows.

Causes: Strain on the organs may cause the kidneys to lose their filtering capacity. Waste items then begin to develop in the blood. Finally, the kidneys start to fail. This failure, ESRD, is intense. A patient with ESRD needs a kidney transplant or a blood filtration by a machine (dialysis).

Other complications: Individuals with diabetes will probably have other kidney-related issues such as bladder infections and nerve damages in the bladder.

Preventing complications: Not everybody with diabetes goes through a kidney disease. Elements that can impact kidney disease improvement include genetics, blood-sugar control and blood pressure. The more a person keeps diabetes and blood pressure under control, the lower the chances of getting a kidney disease.

Keeping your glucose level high can counteract diabetic kidney problems. Research has demonstrated that blood glucose control diminishes the danger of micro albuminuria by 33%. For individuals who suffer from micro albuminuria have now a reduced danger of advancing to macro albuminuria. Different studies have recommended that blood glucose control can reverse micro albuminuria.

Treatment: Essential treatments for kidney infection include control of blood glucose and blood pressure. Blood pressure dramatically affects the rate at which the condition progresses. Indeed, even a gentle increase in blood pressure can rapidly aggravate a kidney infection. Four approaches to bring down your blood pressure are:

1. Shedding pounds
2. Eating less salt
3. Maintaining a strategic distance from liquor and tobacco
4. Exercising regularly

A low-protein diet can decrease the amount of lost protein in the urine and increase the protein levels in the blood. Never begin a low-protein diet without talking to your physician or nephrologist.

If you are suffering from diabetes then you would know how crucial it is to maintain optimum glucose or sugar level. Increasing or decreasing of the sugar level in your body can be extremely fatal. Diabetes is a disease which arises due to excessive sugar in your blood. Thus, in order to control the disease, you need to make sure that the sugar level is maintained evenly. Sudden changes in the level might cause other health problems. Thus, not only do you need to go for constant check-ups by the medical practitioner but also need to conduct regular blood tests every year. These apart, to maintain a standard glucose level or to measure the level in your body, you can make some of the Continuous Glucose Monitoring system or the CGM.

What are Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems?
CGM’s are small devices that a diabetic patient wears on their skin. This device measures the glucose content of the body day and night and alerts the patient in case of an imbalance in the sugar levels. A graphical representation of the sugar levels is presented to you every day so that you can see for yourself the rise and fall of the glucose content in your body. The Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems are of two different types.

The first type involves those devices which provide you a graphical representation of your sugar levels in real time. The second type involves those devices from where you can download and analyse a recorded sugar level of your body throughout the day.

• The sugar level can be accurately tracked all day long and even at nights. This is helpful in alerting you even to the slightest change in the level in your body.
• With continuous measurements, you can get rid of regular blood tests prescribed by your doctor. However, it is advisable to consult your doctor once prior to the skipping of any blood tests.
• You can monitor the trends of the sugar level in your body. That is, you can gauge the trend as to when the sugar level is high or low in your body.

These are some of the essential facts that you need to know about CGM’s. These devices are becoming quite popular with those suffering from diabetes. It is one of those instruments which have made it easier to balance the lifestyle of the diabetic patients.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!