Common endocrine disorders

Master, Doctor Tran Nguyen Quynh Tram (Department of Endocrinology – Diabetes, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City) said that the endocrine system is a collection of glands and organs that regulate the body’s processes.

Hormone levels are too high or too low or if the body does not react to hormones properly, it can cause endocrine disorders.

Dr. Tram further shared that endocrine diseases are divided into many different groups of diseases such as pituitary and hypothalamic diseases (pituitary adenoma, acromegaly, early puberty, hypopituitarism…);

Diabetes

Diabetes is blood sugar levels that are always higher than normal levels due to the body’s deficiency or resistance to insulin, causing blood sugar metabolism disorders.

Over time, this accumulation causes blood sugar levels to constantly be high.

Goiter disease

Goiter (also known as goiter, thyroid goiter) is one of the most common types of thyroid disorders, caused by abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland.

Endocrine disorders can cause goiter and examination helps detect the disease.

Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland produces too much hormone.

3 methods of treating hyperthyroidism include: medical treatment with medication, radiation therapy with oral iodine containing radioactive substances or surgical treatment with thyroid surgery.

Hypothyroidism

The opposite of hyperthyroidism is hypothyroidism, which occurs when the thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones for the body.

Treatment is usually thyroid hormone supplementation to control symptoms.

Renal adenoma

Each kidney has an adrenal gland, which is part of the endocrine system, producing important hormones for the body such as aldosterone, cortisol from the cerebral cortex, adrenalin from the medulla.

Cushing’s syndrome

Cushing’s syndrome occurs when the body has an excess of the hormone cortisol.

Excess cortisol in people with Cushing’s syndrome can have symptoms including weight gain, shrunken limbs, an abnormally round face, fat lumps between the shoulders (buffalo hump), increased hair growth, and muscle weakness.

More serious complications such as osteoporosis;

Acromegaly disease

Acromegaly occurs when the body produces too much growth hormone, which causes abnormal growth of bones, organs and tissues.

According to Dr. Tram, acromegaly is dangerous in that Vietnamese people believe that people with big noses, big foreheads… will have a `luxurious appearance` and accidentally delay treatment time.

Dr. Tram recommends that endocrine-related diseases can be difficult to identify because they have many silent symptoms and appear similar to other diseases.

Nha Trang