HYPOADRENOTROPISM: THE ISOLATED DEFICIENCY OF ADRENOTROPIC HORMONE

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Abstract
Two patients with an isolated deficiency of adrenotropic hormone are presented. One was a female patient, aged 58, who had a six-year history of profound weight loss, weakness and loss of axillary and pubic hair. The second was a male patient, aged 28, who suffered from weight loss, weakness and spontaneous hypoglycemic attacks. Neither patient had the hyperpigmentation characteristic of primary adrenal insufficiency and both were shown to have adrenal insufficiency that changed to a state of normal adrenal function during treatment with ACTH. Thyroidal and gonadal functions were normal. Neither patient had evidence of an intracranial tumor, and neither had received previous glucocorticoid therapy. The female patient died of adrenal insufficiency, and postmortem studies revealed small but intact adrenals, an intact pituitary and a normal hypothalamus. These patients suffered from a deficiency of circulating ACTH but the specific etiology of this deficiency is unknown.