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As with other forms of CAH, the primary therapy of 11β-hydroxylase deficient CAH is lifelong glucocorticoid replacement in sufficient doses to prevent adrenal insufficiency and suppress excess mineralocorticoid and androgen production.
Salt-wasting in infancy responds to intravenous saline, dextrose, and high dose hydrocortisone, but prolonged fludrocortisone replacement is usually not necessary. The hypertension is ameliorated by glucocorticoid suppression of DOC.
Long term glucocorticoid replacement issues are similar to those of 21-hydroxylase CAH, and involve careful balance between doses sufficient to suppress androgens while avoiding suppression of growth. Because the enzyme defect does not affect sex steroid synthesis, gonadal function at puberty and long-term fertility should be normal if adrenal androgen production is controlled. See congenital adrenal hyperplasia for a more detailed discussion of androgen suppression and fertility potential in adolescent and adult women.
The primary goals of hormone replacement are to protect from adrenal insufficiency and to suppress the excessive adrenal androgen production.
Glucocorticoids are provided to all children and adults with all but the mildest and latest-onset forms of CAH. The glucocorticoids provide a reliable substitute for cortisol, thereby reducing ACTH levels. Reducing ACTH also reduces the stimulus for continued hyperplasia and overproduction of androgens. In other words, glucocorticoid replacement is the primary method of reducing the excessive adrenal androgen production in both sexes. A number of glucocorticoids are available for therapeutic use. Hydrocortisone or liquid prednisolone is preferred in infancy and childhood, and prednisone or dexamethasone are often more convenient for adults.
The glucocorticoid dose is typically started at the low end of physiologic replacement (6–12 mg/m²) but is adjusted throughout childhood to prevent both growth suppression from too much glucocorticoid and androgen escape from too little. Serum levels of 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, testosterone, androstenedione, and other adrenal steroids are followed for additional information, but may not be entirely normalized even with optimal treatment. ("See Glucocorticoid for more on this topic.")
Mineralocorticoids are replaced in all infants with salt-wasting and in most patients with elevated renin levels. Fludrocortisone is the only pharmaceutically available mineralocorticoid and is usually used in doses of 0.05 to 2 mg daily. Electrolytes, renin, and blood pressure levels are followed to optimize the dose.
XX females with lipoid CAH may need estrogen replacement at or after puberty. Active intervention has been used to preserve the possibility of fertility and conception in lipoid CAH females. In a case report in 2009, a woman with late onset lipoid CAH due to StAR deficiency underwent hormone replacement therapy in combination with an assisted fertility technique, intracytoplasmic sperm injection. This led to ovulation and with implantation of the in vitro fertilized egg, a successful birth.
Treatment of all forms of CAH may include any of:
1. supplying enough glucocorticoid to reduce hyperplasia and overproduction of androgens or mineralocorticoids
2. providing replacement mineralocorticoid and extra salt if the person is deficient
3. providing replacement testosterone or estrogen at puberty if the person is deficient
4. additional treatments to optimize growth by delaying puberty or delaying bone maturation
All of these management issues are discussed in more detail in congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency.
Dexamethasone is used as an off-label early pre-natal treatment for the symptoms of CAH in female fetuses, but it does not treat the underlying congenital disorder. A 2007 Swedish clinical trial found that treatment may cause cognitive and behavioural defects, but the small number of test subjects means the study cannot be considered definitive. A 2012 American study found no negative short term outcomes, but "lower cognitive processing in CAH girls and women with long-term DEX exposure." Administration of pre-natal dexamethasone has been the subject of controversy over issues of informed consent and because treatment must predate a clinical diagnosis of CAH in the female fetus, especially because in utero dexamethasone may cause metabolic problems that are not evident until later in life; Swedish clinics ceased recruitment for research in 2010.
The treatment has also raised concerns in LGBT and bioethics communities following publication of an essay posted to the forum of the Hastings Center, and research in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, which found that pre-natal treatment of female fetuses was suggested to prevent those fetuses from becoming lesbians after birth, may make them more likely to engage in "traditionally" female-identified behaviour and careers, and more interested in bearing and raising children. Citing a known attempt by a man using his knowledge of the fraternal birth order effect to avoid having a homosexual son by using a surrogate, the essayists (Professor Alice Dreger of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, Professor Ellen Feder of American University and attorney Anne Tamar-Mattis) suggest that pre-natal "dex" treatments constitute the first known attempt to use "in utero" protocols to reduce the incidence of homosexuality and bisexuality in humans. Research on the use of prenatal hormone treatments to prevent homosexuality stretches back to the early 1990s or earlier.
Since CAH is a recessive gene, both the mother and father must be recessive carriers of CAH for a child to have CAH. Due to advances in modern medicine, those couples with the recessive CAH genes have an option to prevent CAH in their offspring through preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). In PGD, the egg is fertilized outside the women's body in a petri dish (IVF). On the 3rd day, when the embryo has developed from one cell to about 4 to 6 cells, one of those cells is removed from the embryo without harming the embryo. The embryo continues to grow until day 5 when it is either frozen or implanted into the mother. Meanwhile, the removed cell is analyzed to determine if the embryo has CAH. If the embryo is determined to have CAH, the parents may make a decision as to whether they wish to have it implanted in the mother or not.
Meta-analysis of the studies supporting the use of dexamethasone on CAH at-risk fetuses found "less than one half of one percent of published 'studies' of this intervention were regarded as being of high enough quality to provide meaningful data for a meta-analysis. Even these four studies were of low quality" ... "in ways so slipshod as to breach professional standards of medical ethics" and "there were no data on long-term follow-up of physical and metabolic outcomes in children exposed to dexamethasone".
Some of the childhood management issues are similar those of 21-hydroxylase deficiency:
- Replacing mineralocorticoid with fludrocortisone
- Suppressing DHEA and replacing cortisol with glucocorticoid
- Providing extra glucocorticoid for stress
- Close monitoring and perhaps other adjunctive measures to optimize growth
- Deciding whether surgical repair of virilized female genitalia is warranted
However, unlike 21-hydroxylase CAH, children with 3β-HSD CAH may be unable to produce adequate amounts of testosterone (boys) or estradiol (girls) to effect normal pubertal changes. Replacement testosterone or estrogen and progesterone can be initiated at adolescence and continued throughout adult life. Fertility may be impaired by the difficulty of providing appropriate sex hormone levels in the gonads even though the basic anatomy is present.
Even after diagnosis and initiation of treatment, a small percentage of children and adults with infancy or childhood onset CAH die of adrenal crisis. Deaths from this are entirely avoidable if the child and family understand that the daily glucocorticoids cannot be allowed to be interrupted by an illness. When a person is well, missing a dose, or even several doses, may produce little in the way of immediate symptoms. However, glucocorticoid needs are increased during illness and stress, and missed doses during an illness such as the "flu" (or viral gastroenteritis) can lead within hours to reduced blood pressure, shock, and death.
To prevent this, all persons taking replacement glucocorticoids are taught to increase their doses in the event of illness, surgery, severe injury, or severe exhaustion. More importantly, they are taught that vomiting warrants an injection within hours of hydrocortisone (e.g., SoluCortef) or other glucocorticoid. This recommendation applies to both children and adults. Because young children are more susceptible to vomiting illnesses than adults, pediatric endocrinologists usually teach parents how to give hydrocortisone injections.
As an additional precaution, persons with adrenal insufficiency are advised to wear a medical identification tag or carry a wallet card to alert those who may be providing emergency medical care of the urgent need for glucocorticoids.
Management of salt-wasting crises and mineralocorticoid treatment are as for other forms of salt-wasting congenital adrenal hyperplasias: saline and fludrocortisone.
Glucocorticoids can be provided at minimal replacement doses because there is no need for suppression of excessive adrenal androgens or mineralocorticoids. As with other forms of adrenal insufficiency, extra glucocorticoid is needed for stress coverage.
Hypertension and mineralocorticoid excess is treated with glucocorticoid replacement, as in other forms of CAH.
Most genetic females with both forms of the deficiency will need replacement estrogen to induce puberty. Most will also need periodic progestin to regularize menses. Fertility is usually reduced because egg maturation and ovulation is poorly supported by the reduced intra-ovarian steroid production.
The most difficult management decisions are posed by the more ambiguous genetic (XY) males. Most who are severely undervirilized, looking more female than male, are raised as females with surgical removal of the nonfunctional testes. If raised as males, a brief course of testosterone can be given in infancy to induce growth of the penis. Surgery may be able to repair the hypospadias. The testes should be salvaged by orchiopexy if possible. Testosterone must be replaced in order for puberty to occur and continued throughout adult life.
Pituitary tumors require treatment when they are causing specific symptoms, such as headaches, visual field defects or excessive hormone secretion. Transsphenoidal surgery (removal of the tumor by an operation through the nose and the sphenoidal sinuses) may, apart from addressing symptoms related to the tumor, also improve pituitary function, although the gland is sometimes damaged further as a result of the surgery. When the tumor is removed by craniotomy (opening the skull), recovery is less likely–but sometimes this is the only suitable way to approach the tumor. After surgery, it may take some time for hormone levels to change significantly. Retesting the pituitary hormone levels is therefore performed 2 to 3 months later.
Prolactinomas may respond to dopamine agonist treatment–medication that mimics the action of dopamine on the lactrotrope cells, usually bromocriptine or cabergoline. This approach may improve pituitary hormone secretion in more than half the cases, and make supplementary treatment unnecessary.
Other specific underlying causes are treated as normally. For example, hemochromatosis is treated by venesection, the regular removal of a fixed amount of blood. Eventually, this decreases the iron levels in the body and improves the function of the organs in which iron has accumulated.
Most pituitary hormones can be replaced indirectly by administering the products of the effector glands: hydrocortisone (cortisol) for adrenal insufficiency, levothyroxine for hypothyroidism, testosterone for male hypogonadism, and estradiol for female hypogonadism (usually with a progestogen to inhibit unwanted effects on the uterus). Growth hormone is available in synthetic form, but needs to be administered parenterally (by injection). Antidiuretic hormone can be replaced by desmopressin (DDAVP) tablets or nose spray. Generally, the lowest dose of the replacement medication is used to restore wellbeing and correct the deranged results, as excessive doses would cause side-effects or complications. Those requiring hydrocortisone are usually instructed to increase their dose in physically stressful events such as injury, hospitalization and dental work as these are times when the normal supplementary dose may be inadequate, putting the patient at risk of adrenal crisis.
Long-term follow up by specialists in endocrinology is generally needed for people with known hypopituitarism. Apart from ensuring the right treatment is being used and at the right doses, this also provides an opportunity to deal with new symptoms and to address complications of treatment.
Difficult situations arise in deficiencies of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis in people (both men and women) who experience infertility; infertility in hypopituitarism may be treated with subcutaneous infusions of FSH, human chorionic gonadotropin–which mimics the action of LH–and occasionally GnRH.
Treatment of hyperandrogenism varies with the underlying condition that causes it. As a hormonal symptom of polycystic ovary syndrome, menopause, and other endocrine disorders, it is primarily treated as a symptom of these disorders. Systemically, it is treated with antiandrogens such as cyproterone acetate, flutamide and spironolactone to control the androgen levels in the patient's body. For Hyperandrogenism caused by Late-Onset Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), treatment is primarily focused on providing the patient with Glucocorticoids to combat the low cortisol production and the corresponding increase in androgens caused by the swelling of the Adrenal Glands. Oestrogen-based oral contraceptives are used to treat both CAH and PCOS caused hyperandrogenism. These hormonal treatments have been found to reduce the androgen excess and suppress adrenal androgen production and cause a significant decrease in hirsutism.
Hyperandrogenism is often managed symptomatically. Hirsutism and acne both respond well to the hormonal treatments described above, with 60-100% reporting an improvement in hirsutism. Androgenic alopecia however, does not show a significant improvement with hormonal treatments and requires other treatments, such as hair transplantation.
Life long hormone replacement therapy for the hormones that are missing.
Standard therapy involves intravenous injections of glucocorticoids and large volumes of intravenous saline solution with dextrose (glucose). This treatment usually brings rapid improvement. If intravenous access is not immediately available, intramuscular injection of glucocorticoids can be used. When the patient can take fluids and medications by mouth, the amount of glucocorticoids is decreased until a maintenance dose is reached. If aldosterone is deficient, maintenance therapy also includes oral doses of fludrocortisone acetate.
Treatment for Addison's disease involves replacing the missing cortisol, sometimes in the form of hydrocortisone tablets, or prednisone tablets in a dosing regimen that mimics the physiological concentrations of cortisol. Alternatively, one-quarter as much prednisolone may be used for equal glucocorticoid effect as hydrocortisone. Treatment is usually lifelong. In addition, many patients require fludrocortisone as replacement for the missing aldosterone.
People with Addison's are often advised to carry information on them (e.g., in the form of a MedicAlert bracelet or information card) for the attention of emergency medical services personnel who might need to attend to their needs. It is also recommended that a needle, syringe, and injectable form of cortisol be carried for emergencies. People with Addison's disease are advised to increase their medication during periods of illness or when undergoing surgery or dental treatment. Immediate medical attention is needed when severe infections, vomiting, or diarrhea occur, as these conditions can precipitate an Addisonian crisis. A patient who is vomiting may require injections of hydrocortisone instead.
Treatment of HH is usually with hormone replacement therapy, consisting of androgen and estrogen administration in males and females, respectively.
Medications consist mostly of antiandrogens, drugs that block the effects of androgens like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the body, and include:
- Spironolactone: An antimineralocorticoid with additional antiandrogenic activity at high dosages
- Cyproterone acetate: A dual antiandrogen and progestogen. In addition to single form, it is also available in some formulations of combined oral contraceptives at a low dosage (see below). It has a risk of liver damage.
- Flutamide: A pure antiandrogen. It has been found to possess equivalent or greater effectiveness than spironolactone, cyproterone acetate, and finasteride in the treatment of hirsutism. However, it has a high risk of liver damage and hence is no longer recommended as a first- or second-line treatment.
- Bicalutamide: A pure antiandrogen. It is effective similarly to flutamide but is much safer as well as better-tolerated.
- Birth control pills: Consist of an estrogen, usually ethinylestradiol, and a progestin. They are thought to work by 1) stimulating production of sex hormone-binding globulin in the liver, which decreases free concentrations of testosterone in the blood; and by 2) suppressing luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion from the pituitary gland, which decreases production of testosterone by the gonads. Hence, they are functional antiandrogens. In addition, certain birth control pills contain a progestin that also has antiandrogenic activity. Examples include birth control pills containing cyproterone acetate, chlormadinone acetate, drospirenone, and dienogest.
- Finasteride and dutasteride: 5α-Reductase inhibitors. They inhibit the production of the potent androgen DHT.
- GnRH analogues: Suppress androgen production by the gonads and reduce androgen concentrations to castrate levels.
- Metformin: Antihyperglycemic drug used for diabetes mellitus. However, it is also effective in treatment of hirsutism associated with insulin resistance (e.g. polycystic ovary syndrome)
- Eflornithine: Blocks putrescine that is necessary for the growth of hair follicles
In cases of hyperandrogenism specifically due to congenital adrenal hyperplasia, administration of glucocorticoids will return androgen levels to normal.
The treatment for hyperaldosteronism depends on the underlying cause. In people with a single benign tumor (adenoma), surgical removal (adrenalectomy) may be curative. This is usually performed laparoscopically, through several very small incisions. For people with hyperplasia of both glands, successful treatment is often achieved with spironolactone or eplerenone, drugs that block the effect of aldosterone. With its antiandrogen effect, spironolactone drug therapy may have a range of effects in males, including sometimes gynecomastia. These symptoms usually do not occur with eplerenone drug therapy.
In the absence of treatment, individuals with hyperaldosteronism often have poorly controlled high blood pressure, which may be associated with increased rates of stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure. With appropriate treatment, the prognosis is excellent.
Since risk factors are not known and vary among individuals with hyperandrogegism, there is no sure method to prevent this medical condition. Therefore, more longterm studies are needed first to find a cause for the condition before being able to find a sufficient method of prevention.
However, there are a few things that can help avoid long-term medical issues related to hyperandrogenism like PCOS. Getting checked by a medical professional for hyperandrogenism; especially if one has a family history of the condition, irregular periods, or diabetes; can be beneficial. Watching your weight and diet is also important in decreasing your chances, especially in obese females, since continued exercise and maintaining a healthy diet leads to an improved menstrual cycle as well as to decreased insulin levels and androgen concentrations.
Most Cushing's syndrome cases are caused by corticosteroid medications, such as those used for asthma, arthritis, eczema and other inflammatory conditions. Consequently, most patients are effectively treated by carefully tapering off (and eventually stopping) the medication that causes the symptoms.
If an adrenal adenoma is identified, it may be removed by surgery. An ACTH-secreting corticotrophic pituitary adenoma should be removed after diagnosis. Regardless of the adenoma's location, most patients require steroid replacement postoperatively at least in the interim, as long-term suppression of pituitary ACTH and normal adrenal tissue does not recover immediately. Clearly, if both adrenals are removed, replacement with hydrocortisone or prednisolone is imperative.
In those patients not suited for or unwilling to undergo surgery, several drugs have been found to inhibit cortisol synthesis (e.g. ketoconazole, metyrapone) but they are of limited efficacy. Mifepristone is a powerful glucocorticoid type II receptor antagonist and, since it does not interfere with normal cortisol homeostatis type I receptor transmission, may be especially useful for treating the cognitive effects of Cushing's syndrome. However, the medication faces considerable controversy due to its use as an abortifacient. In February 2012, the FDA approved mifepristone to control high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) in adult patients who are not candidates for surgery, or who did not respond to prior surgery, with the warning that mifepristone should never be used by pregnant women.
Removal of the adrenals in the absence of a known tumor is occasionally performed to eliminate the production of excess cortisol. In some occasions, this removes negative feedback from a previously occult pituitary adenoma, which starts growing rapidly and produces extreme levels of ACTH, leading to hyperpigmentation. This clinical situation is known as Nelson's syndrome.
Many women with unwanted hair seek methods of hair removal. However, the causes of the hair growth should be evaluated by a physician, who can conduct blood tests, pinpoint the specific origin of the abnormal hair growth, and advise on the treatment.
Treatment options depend on the type of tumor and on its size:
- Prolactinomas are most often treated with cabergoline or quinagolide (both dopamine agonists), which decrease tumor size as well as alleviates symptoms, followed by serial imaging to detect any increase in size. Treatment where the tumor is large can be with radiation therapy or surgery, and patients generally respond well. Efforts have been made to use a progesterone antagonist for the treatment of prolactinomas, but so far have not proved successful.
- Somatotrophic adenomas respond to octreotide, a long-acting somatostatin analog, in many but not all cases according to a review of the medical literature. Unlike prolactinomas, thyrotrophic adenomas characteristically respond poorly to dopamine agonist treatment.
- Surgery is a common treatment for pituitary tumors. The normal approach is Trans-sphenoidal adenectomy, which usually can remove the tumor without affecting the brain or optic nerves.
- Danazol is a steroid compound that has been labelled as an "Anterior pituitary suppressant".
Treatment is directed towards (1) correcting hypotension, hypovolemia, electrolyte imbalances, and metabolic acidosis; (2) improving vascular integrity, and (3) providing an immediate source of glucocorticoids. Rapid correction of hypovolemia is the first priority.
Most patients show dramatic improvement within 24 to 48 hours of appropriate fluid and glucocorticoid therapy. Over the ensuing 2 to 4 days, a gradual transition from IV fluids to oral water and food is undertaken, and maintenance mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid therapy is initiated. Failure to make this transition smoothly should raise suspicion of insufficient glucocorticoid supplementation, concurrent endocrinopathy (e.g. hypothyroidism), or cocurrent illness (especially renal damage).
One possible treatment is with anastrozole. Histrelin acetate (Supprelin LA), triptorelin or leuprolide, any GnRH agonists, may be used. Non-continuous usage of GnRH agonists stimulates the pituitary gland to release follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). However, when used regularly, GnRH agonists cause a decreased release of FSH and LH. Prolonged use has a risk of causing osteoporosis. After stopping GnRH agonists, pubertal changes resume within 3 to 12 months.
Treatment includes spironolactone, a potassium-sparing diuretic that works by acting as an aldosterone antagonist.
In GRA, the hypersecretion of aldosterone and the accompanying hypertension are remedied when ACTH secretion is suppressed by administering glucocorticoids.
Dexamethasone, spironolactone and eplerenone have been used in treatment.