SPONTANEOUS HYPOGLYCEMIA DUE TO ATROPHY OF THE ADRENAL GLANDS

Abstract

It has been established that hypoglycemia may be due to a variety of causes. In some cases disturbance of the islets of Langerhans, such as hyperplasia,¹adenoma²or carcinoma,³has been responsible. In other instances disease of the liver⁴or insufficiency of the pituitary body⁵or of the adrenal glands⁶has given rise to severe and at times fatal hypoglycemic attacks. There have been reported numerous other explanations for hypoglycemia, such as lactation, muscular wasting, renal glycosuria, excessive fatigue and fasting.⁷These conditions only rarely produce severe symptoms. Because cases of severe spontaneous hypoglycemia of extrapancreatic origin are less frequently reported than cases of hypoglycemia due to islet cell changes, it is of interest to report a case in which the hypoglycemia is considered due to insufficiency of the adrenal glands. REPORT OF CASE The patient was admitted to the Rochester State Hospital on Feb. 7, 1939, with a history