Adrenal Disease

The Mount Sinai Health System has a long history of caring for patients with adrenal disorders. The adrenal glands, located at the top of your kidneys, produce cortisol and other hormones that in turn affect your metabolism, immune system, blood glucose and blood pressure. The inside of the adrenal gland(medulla) produces adrenaline, and the outside (cortex) produces cortisol and aldosterone.  There are relatively rare disorders of adrenal deficiencies (Addison's Disease) or overproduction (Cushing's, Aldosteronism or Pheochromocytomas). The most common adrenal disorder is called the adrenal incidentaloma, which is an incidentally discovered adrenal mass when a patient has abdominal imaging such as CT scan or MRI for another reason.  These incidentalomas must be investigated by an endocrinologist to insure that they are not producing too much of any of the adrenal hormones.

Adrenal glands are complicated to treat, so we typically use a team approach. Our endocrinologists work together with endocrine surgeons, cardiologists, radiologists, interventional radiologists, neurosurgeons, nuclear medicine doctors, oncologists and geneticists to thoroughly diagnose and treat these conditions. Monthly interdisciplinary Adrenal Conferences are held to discuss challenging cases, review all data and make recommendations.