A novel disease causes destruction of the adrenal glands. If a patient with this disease failed to receive aldosterone replacement therapy, what would result?

Question

A.  death
B.  diminished cognitive function
C.  infertility in both men and women
D.  poor blood sugar regulation

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
What type of thinking is required?

Gather Content
What do you already know about aldosterone? What other information is related to the question?

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
 

Answer 1

A.  death

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        · What would loss of the adrenal glands cause?
What type of thinking is required?
            o This is an evaluate question because you have to access various symptoms to see which of these systems would be produced by the loss of aldosterone.

Gather Content
What do you already know about aldosterone? What other information is related to the question?
        · The adrenal glands produce aldosterone, so loss of these glands would result in severe loss of mineral balance within the body. Aldosterone regulates blood pressure by regulating mineral balance, specifically by stimulating the kidneys to reabsorb Na+ ions and secreting K+ ions in the urine. As a result, aldosterone increases water retention and increases blood pressure. Without aldosterone, blood pressure would drop and the brain and the rest of the body tissues would not get enough oxygen. In addition, the loss of Na+ would result in problems sending neural signals as action potentials are based on Na+ rushing into neurons.

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        · Applying what you know, you can discount the answer concerning sexual characteristics such at infertility, because aldosterone is a mineralocorticoid involved in the regulation of mineral balance and not a sex steroid hormone like testosterone. Insulin and glucagon regulate blood sugar, not aldosterone, so that is not the correct answer. Aldosterone does control blood pressure and a drop in blood pressure, although might initially produce diminished cognitive function, will ultimately result in death.

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        o Answering this question correctly depended upon understanding the role of aldosterone on blood pressure and the mechanism of this regulation. Then you had to evaluate each answer to see if a lack of aldosterone would fit the symptom. If you selected the correct answer, great! If not, what went wrong? Did you confuse mineralocortocoids with steroid sex hormones? Did you think that aldosterone decreased blood pressure instead of increasing it? Did you realize that a severe drop in blood pressure would result in death since oxygen would not be delivered to the brain?