At 40 years of age, based on hypoglycaemia and eosinophilia, she was suspected of adrenal insufficiency, and was diagnosed with primary adrenal insufficiency by both corticotropin stimulation and corticotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test.
In addition to the patient's clinical symptoms and laboratory results, the results from ACTH and corticotropin-releasing hormone stimulation tests were used to make a diagnosis of primary adrenal insufficiency.
We conclude that carriers of 21-OH deficiency appear to have mild hypocortisolism and compensatory changes of CRH secretion secondary to lower cortisol concentrations.
ACTH levels were significantly higher in patients with PAI than that in patients with ACC, both in baseline conditions (88.99 (11.04-275.00) vs 24.53 (6.16-121.88) pmol/L, <i>P</i> = 0.031) and following CRH (158.40 (34.32-275.00) vs 67.43 (8.8-179.52) pmol/L <i>P</i> = 0.016).
Hormonal challenge tests, such as the dexamethasone/corticotropin-releasing hormone test, have revealed elevated HPA activity (hypercortisolism) in at least a portion of patients with depression, although growing evidence has suggested that abnormally low HPA axis (hypocortisolism) has also been implicated in a variety of stress-related conditions.