Adrenal Virilism Health Article

Definition

Adrenal virilism is the development or premature development of male secondary sexual characteristics caused by male sex hormones (androgens) excessively produced by the adrenal gland. This disorder can occur before birth and can lead to sexual abnormalities in newborns. It can also occur in girls and women later in life.

Description

In the normal human body, there are two adrenal glands. They are small structures that lie on top of the kidneys. The adrenal glands produce many hormones that regulate body functions. These hormones include androgens, or male hormones. Androgens are produced in normal girls and women. Sometimes, one or both of the adrenal glands becomes enlarged or overactive, producing more than the usual amount of androgens. The excess androgens create masculine characteristics.

Causes and symptoms

In infants and children, adrenal virilism is usually the result of adrenal gland enlargement that is present at birth. This is called congenital adrenal hyperplasia. The cause is usually a genetic problem that leads to severe enzyme deficiencies. In rare cases, adrenal virilism is caused by an adrenal gland tumor. The tumor can be benign (adrenal adenoma) or cancerous (adrenal carcinoma). Sometimes virilism is caused by a type of tumor on a woman's ovary (arrhenoblastoma).

Newborn girls with adrenal virilism have external sex organs that seem to be a mixture of male and female organs (called female pseudohermaphrodism). Newborn boys with the disorder have enlarged external sex organs, and these organs develop at an abnormally rapid pace.

Children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia begin growing abnormally fast, but they stop growing earlier than normal. Later in childhood, they are typically shorter than normal but have well-developed trunks.

Women with adrenal virilization may develop facial hair. Typically, their menstrual cycles are infrequent or absent. They may also develop a deeper voice, a more prominent Adam's apple, and other masculine signs.