Non-Classical Adrenal Hyperplasia (NCAH)

Non-classical adrenal hyperplasia or NCAH is a disorder that affects both men and women from late childhood through the rest of their lives. Compared to its sister form, classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia, it is non-life threatening. The Mayo Clinic, a service that gives people medical information and helps set up doctor appointments, defines NCAH as “a collection of genetic conditions that limit your adrenal glands' ability to make certain vital hormones.” These vital hormones include, but aren’t limited to, estrogen, testosterone, aldosterone, androgens and corticosteroids. NCAH is an uncommon disorder affecting only one percent of the population in a 1 to 1000 ratio, according to the National Library of Medicine. From experience, …show more content…
The adrenal glands are in communication with the anterior pituitary gland telling it to regulate hormones. With the mutations at the cellular level, certain hormones are produced too much or too little. The adrenal cortex produces the hormones cortisol, aldosterone, and androgens, according to the National Institutes of Health. When there is a deficiency in the cortisol level, as seen in NCAH, the aldosterone and androgens increase greatly in number, especially in stress situations when cortisol should is normally produced. This can cause women with NCAH to develop other disorders like hirsutism, acne, alopecia, anovulation, and menstrual dysfunction (Witchel). Men may also experience peripubertal gynecomastia, the development of breasts around the time of puberty, and limited to no ability to reproduce …show more content…
“Skeletal maturation may be significantly advanced among children with NCAH” (Witchel). The person would be overly tall as a child but have a relatively short stature as an adult. Women will develop breasts and pubic hair at early ages and may fail to menstruate in their teens (US National Library of Medicine). Men will show a lowered voice, enlarged genitals, and well developed muscles (US National Library of Medicine). If not seen in childhood, different symptoms arrive with adulthood. “Males and Females both have fertility problems and may suffer from severe acne. Females also suffer from irregular and painful menstrual cycles” (University of Minnesota). Sexual problems are also common among women. Women with NCAH will have painful and possibly bloody intercourse, embarrassment about the size of their genitals, and are more likely to identify as bisexual or homosexual (Mayo