A board-certified veterinary internal medicine specialist, Joseph Bisignano, DVM, has served as head of the internal medicine department of Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Animal Specialty Hospital since 2021. Joseph Bisignano, DVM’s areas of expertise include gastroenterology, kidney disease, and endocrine disorders. One example of the latter is Addison’s disease.
Also called hypoadrenocorticism, Addison’s disease is a relatively uncommon condition in dogs caused by low to no production of essential hormones by the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands, located next to the kidneys, produce glucocorticoid (cortisol) and mineralocorticoid (aldosterone), which regulate vital functions such as blood pressure, hydration, metabolism, and stress response. While Addison’s disease can be present with any dog, young to middle-aged females are at higher risk.
Hypoadrenocorticism’s symptoms can vary widely. Often, they come and go or resemble those of many other diseases, which has won the condition the name “the great pretender.” Clinical signs can include diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetite, trembling, and weight loss.
Critically low levels of adrenal hormones, however, can trigger an Addisonian crisis: an acute and potentially life-threatening medical condition characterized by sudden weakness, violent vomiting, diarrhea, and an occasional collapse, which requires prompt veterinary care. The medical care may include intravenous fluid therapy, injectable steroids, and treatment of low blood sugar and abnormal heart rhythms.
Apart from an Addisonian crisis, Addison’s disease treatment requires continued monitoring of clinical signs and lifelong supplementation with cortisol and aldosterone in the form of daily oral medication and monthly injections. With appropriate treatment, most dogs with hypoadrenocorticism can happily live out their expected lifespan.
