What Is Addison's Disease?
2. What Causes Addison’s Disease?
The onset of Addison’s disease can happen in two ways. Severe damage to your adrenal glands can cause primary adrenal insufficiency. Your immune system no longer recognizes your adrenal glands as a part of your body and starts attacking them, resulting in an autoimmune disorder. This damage can be the result of an infection, tumor growth (either cancerous or benign), or prolonged use of glucocorticoids or certain blood thinners.
Secondary adrenal insufficiency is the result of the failure of the pituitary gland in your brain to signal the adrenal glands to produce hormones. Any damage to the pituitary gland can cause this problem.
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