Degree of Severity
The condition can be classified into "salt-wasting", "simple virilizing", and "non-classical" forms.
| Type | Sex steroid effects | Other effects |
|---|---|---|
| Severe 21-hydroxylase deficiency causes salt-wasting CAH | The most common cause of ambiguous genitalia due to prenatal virilization of genetically female (XX) infants. | Life-threatening vomiting and dehydration occurring within the first few weeks of life. Aldosterone and cortisol levels are both reduced. |
| Moderate 21-hydroxylase deficiency is referred to as simple virilizing CAH | Typically is recognized as causing virilization of prepubertal children. | Cortisol is reduced, but aldosterone is not. |
| Still milder forms of 21-hydroxylase deficiency are referred to as non-classical CAH | Can cause androgen effects and infertility in adolescent and adult women. | Neither aldosterone nor cortisol are reduced. |
The salt-wasting and simple virilizing types are sometimes grouped together as "classical".
Read more about this topic: Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Due To 21-hydroxylase Deficiency
Famous quotes containing the words degree of, degree and/or severity:
“A certain degree of neurosis is of inestimable value as a drive, especially to a psychologist.”
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
“The eloquence of one stimulates all the rest, some up to the speaking-point, and all others to a degree that makes them good receivers and conductors, and they avenge themselves for their enforced silence by increased loquacity on their return.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“A Man who always acts in the Severity of Wisdom, or the Haughtiness of Quality, seems to move in a personated Part: It looks too Constrained and Theatrical for a Man to be always in that Character which distinguishes him from others.”
—Richard Steele (1672–1729)