Adrenal Gland Hormones - Cushing's Disease Explained

The pituitary gland regulates adrenal gland hormone release via negative feedback. The adrenal glands release aldosterone, cortisol, and testosterone to help us deal with stress. Aldosterone increases kidney retention of salt and water and therefore can increase blood pressure. Cortisol mobilizes fat stores and increases blood glucose by stimulating lipolysis and gluconeogenesis. Testosterone prepares the mind and body for physical conflict. Too much of these hormones results in Cushing's Disease, and a lack of them results in Addison's Disease.
www.sciencewithsusanna.com has diagrams, notes, and practice questions.

[@teresaperdue5429]

Thank you for making these videos. I have watched them as I prepare for the nursing program.

[@AnnaAnna-ch5ww]

Those old videos are the best

[@aurorapoo]

I find your videos very helpful! Thank you so much for making them :)

[@karenl1344]

Thank you for making these videos, there is so much to learn and you make it so easy.

[@peterswanepoel2807]

I can listen to you all day Excellent information Well delivered and explained A true proffessinal

[@tanyac2820]

Thank you so much !!!

[@its_vaish__96k]

Thank uhh so much

[@cassif19]

cortisone and cortizol(= hidrocortizon) are not the same hormone. Cushing's syndrome has nothing to do with aldosterone (because ACTH has little effect on it). hyper secretion of aldosterone leads to Conn disease instead. Conn disease is the one that creates endema.

[@susannaheinze]

Thank you for your comment! You are correct that cortisone and cortisol are not identical hormones; I try to make my videos very simple and did not not want to use too much video time explaining the minor difference between them.
Also, I agree with you that ACTH normally has a minor stimulant effect on aldosterone release; however, if there is a great deal of ACTH stimulating the adrenal gland, excessive aldosterone truly does occur with Cushing's (resulting in edema as a symptom of Cushing's). That said, I probably could have made it much more clear in the video that cortisol is the primary excessive hormone causing the disease.
Thank you for mentioning Conn's disease. I had not heard of it and just looked it up! ;) From what I could find, it is a problem specifically with the adrenal glands and not a problem with the pituitary gland (as with Cushing's). Interesting--thank you for bringing that up.
Thanks again for taking the time to comment. I hope that some aspects of the lecture were useful to you. Please let me know if you find other areas of my videos that can be improved (or other topics you would like to see).

[@cassif19]

susannaheinze
Thank you for your response! I didn't know that aldosterone can influence Cushing syndrome too, but your explication makes sense. Other than the things I mentioned, your video was very useful. Some of your explanations made up for some things that my textbook didn't explain properly.

[@nirvanaipad1059]

Renal means kidney & adrenal means above the kidney !

[@caitlinandrews2468]

Hi there, I have a question - I thought stress (and therefore cortisol) put our bodies into "storage mode" so we are more likely to gain weight. However, here it says cortisol triggers lipolysis. Any chance you can explain and clarify this, susanna? Love your videos so much, I always send them around to my classmates =)

[@susannaheinze]

I know this is a very late reply, but yes, I can explain. Cortisol increases lipolysis which increases Free Fatty Acids in the blood; however, that doesn't mean they will get burned off. They may just "move around" to a more mobile fat storage location (such as the belly fat instead of the hip fat). Does that help?

[@Carrmennxxx]

I thought LH stimulates testosterone

[@zxdeftoneszx]

this video is kind of blurry :(

[@Carrmennxxx]

Not for me

[@dimasavila9158]

Fk I have cushings