Reference no: EM131866174

Please assist me with this question: 1. A patient has the misfortune to have both diabetes insipidus and Addison's disease. How will those conditions affect the patient's ability to regulate blood pressure?

This is what I have so far:

Diabetes insipidus is an abnormality associated with dysfunction of the posterior pituitary. It results because of either defects in antidiuretic hormone (ADH) receptors or an inability to produce ADH. One of the most common symptoms of this disorder is the excretion of large urine volumes, resulting in thirst, dehydration and low blood pressure.

Addison's disease is a disorder caused by the hyposecretion of glucocorticoids and aldosterone. Most of the cases are categorized as autoimmune disorders, where by antibodies result in the destruction of the adrenal cortex or block the binding of ACTH to its receptors. Loss of aldosterone causes elevated potassium, decreased blood sodium, dehydration, decreased cardiac output, arrhythmias, cardiac arrest and low blood pressure.

Both of these disorders result in the hyposecretion of two important hormones that function in increasing blood pressure and maintaining homeostasis.  A patient who has both diseases would suffer from low blood volume, low cardiac output, and extremely low blood pressure. Among other symptoms, they would also suffer from severe dehydration, low electrolytes and the inability to regulate blood pressure.