Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)
A group of disorders that affect the . These glands sit on top of the and release the body needs to function.
About Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)
adrenal (pronounced kuhn-JEN-i-tl uh-DREEN-uhl hahy-per-PLEY-zhuh), or CAH, refers to a group of disorders that affect the . These glands sit on top of the and release the body needs to function. CAH creates imbalances in these hormones, which cause a wide range of symptoms in infants, children, and adults.
Most commonly, CAH causes male-like characteristics (such as excessive hair growth in girls/women, early hair development in boys) and puberty to occur too early in children. Girls with CAH may be born with ambiguity of their external genitalia, meaning their genitalia do not look like typical female genitalia.
CAH can be categorized as classic or nonclassic. The most common type of CAH can be life-threatening if it is left undiagnosed and untreated in newborns. Most patients with CAH must take daily medications to treat the symptoms….
