Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is a condition which arises as a result of rare inherited defects which interfere with the activity of some of the enzymes in the adrenal gland and thereby block the pathway of synthesis of both aldosterone and cortisol. As a result of this the pituitary gland tries to stimulate the adrenal, and as a consequence there is an increased production of testosterone, which can cause the formation of ambiguous genitalia in an affected female (see the female genital tract). The lack of production of cortisol and aldosterone can result in an adrenal crisis, described in adrenal failure in this section.
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