Moreover other symptoms include mental retardation, hypertension, salt and water retention, potassium loss and abnormalities in secondary sexual characteristics in both male and female.Įxcess of aldosterone secretion in the blood produces ‘Conn’s syndrome’. All these changes contribute to the dissolution of bone and protein breakdown leads to muscular wasting and thinning of skin.Įxcess of this hormone leads to the reduced utilization of glucose by peripheral tissues of the body and gluconeogenesis (process of formation of glucose) cause diabetes.

Purple striae appear over the thighs, abdomen and upper arms due the stretching of subcutaneous tissues. Wound healing and hair growth are inhibited. In this syndrome, fat is resorbed from body and is deposited in the face producing ‘moon-face’ and in the trunk producing ‘buffalo-hump’.Įxcess hormone in the blood causes calcium excretion through urine and catabolism (breakdown of complex molecules into simpler ones) of proteins increases. The mechanism of action of this hormone is thought to promote the synthesis of an enzyme protein that regulates the rate of oxidative phosphorylation and release of energy for the process of active transport (transport of various ions across the cell membrane against the concentration gradient).ĭue to its secretion, sodium levels are increased and it contributes to the retention of water and thus, increased blood volume.Īdrenal tumors of hyperplasia and excessive secretion of cortisol are associated with Cushing’s syndrome. With an increase in the concentration of plasma sodium level, water is also retained and the extracellular fluid (ECF) volume increases. Continuous administration of aldosterone results in loss of potassium from the intracellular fluid (ICF) and partial replacement by sodium.

In proximal convoluted tubules (PCT), the similar process of ions exchange takes place. In kidney, aldosterone acts on the distal convoluted tubule (DCT) and increases the absorption of sodium in exchange for potassium or hydrogen ions. It increases sodium or potassium exchange across cell membrane of different tissues due to its ability of sodium reabsorption from body fluids and the contents of gastrointestinal tract (GI). The principal mineralocorticoid secreted by adrenal cortex is Aldosterone.

Aldosterone adrenal cortex