Frequently Asked Questions
| Q) | Is there a cure for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia? |
| Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) is a genetic defect present at birth. There is no cure at present. Ongoing research in gene therapy may offer some hope in the future. | |
| Q) | How is CAH inherited? |
| Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia is caused by a defect in the gene coding for the steroid 21-Hydroxylase enzyme. When a person receives two defective genes, one from each parent, CAH will result. The parents, who only have one defective gene each, themselves do not have CAH. | |
| Q) | How long can people with CAH live? |
| People with CAH can expect to lead a normal life span. | |
| Q) | Does CAH affect sexual and reproductive functions? |
| With vast improvements in surgical and medical treatments, women with CAH can marry and have children. Problems like infrequent ovulation in women can be easily treated. | |
| Q) | Is CAH the same as Cushing's Syndrome? |
| Cushing's Syndrome is a disease caused by an excess of cortisol production by the adrenals, or the excessive consumption of cortisol or similar steroids. People with CAH need to take hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone. These steroids taken in excessive quantities can lead to Cushing's Syndrome. | |
| Q) | Can steroid medications be stopped suddenly? |
| Steroid medication must be decreased gradually over a period of time before eventually stopping the consumption of the steroid altogether. | |
| Q) | Can a CAH child participate in vigorous physical activities? |
| Yes. The medication prescribed by the doctor is intended to replace what a normal body requires while doing normal things. However, if there is serious injury, like broken bone or deep cut, additional synthetic cortisone must be given as soon as possible. | |
| Q) |
Does a male Singaporean CAH child
need to perform military service (NS)? |
| The Medical Classification Centre (MCC), Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), said that there are currently no enlistment guidelines for CAH. The MCC said that people with CAH must report for their enlistment medical just like everyone else. These enlistees should submit their medical reports by their specialist doctors about their medical conditions at the time when they report for their enlistment medical. Whether such candidates will be enlisted into the SAF for National Service will be considered on a case-by-case basis. | |
| Q) | Does CAH give rise to learning disabilities? |
| There is no data to support such a conclusion. However, a CAH child who is repeatedly hospitalized for an adrenal crisis may suffer some brain impairment. | |
| Q) | How often should a CAH child go for a medical checkup? |
| As an infant, the frequency is usually a
3-monthly interval. It is increased to 6-monthly intervals when the child is older. It must be remembered that the only way to accurately review the condition and the medication is by blood test. Blood tests can only be done during medical checkups. The frequency of a medical checkup is best decided by the attending endocrinologist. |
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| Q) | Does CAH increase the chance of getting other diseases? |
| There is no data to suggest that CAH can lead to, or increase the chances of getting cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, kidney failure, and so on. However, the unsupervised use of steroids does have side effects. |
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