With the billions of microbes in our environment, it is the presence of our immune system that ensures humanity doesn’t die off at birth. The immune system can generally tell the body’s cells and invaders apart. However, it becomes problematic when these systems, which should protect, attack. Autoimmune disorders like Addison’s disease arise when the immune system attacks the body’s cells rather than invaders.
These attacks vary from place to place in the body. It could attack the joints or an organ. In the case of Addison’s disease, it strikes an organ; the adrenal gland.
What is Addison’s Disease?
The adrenal gland produces cortisol and aldosterone hormones. Addison’s disease is a chronic condition that makes these hormones in limited quantities. It is a chronic condition in which the adrenal glands don’t have enough of the hormones- cortisol, and aldosterone.
Cortisol helps the body respond to stress. When a person is ill, injured, or just had surgery, cortisol also helps with that form of stress. It helps by maintaining blood pressure, watching the heart’s function, and maintaining blood glucose levels and the immune system.
On the other hand, aldosterone helps balance blood sodium and potassium. This balance controls the amount of fluid a person releases in urine. This liquid balancing also helps blood pressure and volume.
When it comes to Addison’s disease, the immune system attacks the outer portion of the adrenal gland, where cortisol and aldosterone are produced. Unfortunately, symptoms only manifest when about 90% of the adrenal cortex has been destroyed.
Causes and Implications
The most common cause of Addison’s disease is the autoimmune attack. About 75% of cases of Addison’s disease have this cause.
On the other hand, one can be more susceptible to Addison’s for different reasons like genetics. Some diseases make one liable to come down with Addison’s disease easier. They include type I diabetes, pernicious anemia, dermatitis herpetiformis vitiligo, and myasthenia gravis.
Also, when cancer cells spread to the adrenal gland from other parts of the body in a bid to get rid of them, the immune system might begin attacking the gland.
If the patient doesn’t get care quickly enough, it is likely to escalate due to the reduced levels of hormones produced in the body. It can lead to a fatal situation because the symptoms get worse. This situation is called an adrenal or Addisonian crisis.
We can see an example of the disease in the case of Monjito vs Secretary of Health and Human Services. The client lost his ability to move his limbs after being thrown off a train and then was later diagnosed with Addison’s disease.
Another example showcasing Addison’s disease is the case of Atkinson v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. The appellant pointed out that he got the disease from frequent contact with ammonia gas and stress and strain in his workplace.
Using Legal Animation to Illustrate Addison’s Disease
Legal animation is the most suitable means for complex cases, providing the judge and jury proof. The attorney can break down each step of the way using this form of demonstrative evidence. It could be a negligence case or the plaintiff requesting disability compensation and needing proof.
Firstly, the attorney handling the lawsuit can illustrate the normal functions of immune cells and then show how these cells have begun to attack the primary cells of the adrenal gland.
Next, law graphics can also come in by exhibiting how the adrenal gland functions in normal circumstances. The release of cortisol and aldosterone and their importance to the body can be illustrated. This illustration will make it easy to understand how complications can arise without these functions.
Finally, with the help of an expert witness, law graphics can illustrate how the medical practitioner could have prevented a case of Addison’s as a complication from other diseases by giving the client the necessary supplements.
In conclusion, even though the disease is caused by the body’s immune system acting out, the client is still legible for certain benefits.
The attorney can win compensation if the fault is on the end of the healthcare practitioner for not taking quick action. The same goes for requesting their disability dues. The winning streak that legal animation gives also includes those that got the disease spurred by their workplace conditions.
In essence, medical animators at Fox-AE have the technical expertise to create demonstrative exhibits for different cases. We work with expert witnesses on the case to create causation animation needed to back up their opinions. Our animations are tailored to the book and follow the admissibility rules.
