An endocrinologist's view on relative adrenocortical insufficiency in rheumatoid arthritis.

The concept of relative adrenal insufficiency (RAI) has been originally introduced to describe a situation in which critically ill patients, without any prior risk or evidence for adrenal insufficiency, have total serum cortisol levels inadequate for the severity of patients' illness. The concept provided a framework for other disease states, in which higher than normal adrenal function could be expected, such as in chronic inflammation. An intense research in RAI field highlighted some new methodological aspects that significantly improved assessment of adrenal function in chronic illness. Measurement of salivary cortisol may provide additional information on locally available cortisol in target tissues. Low levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEAS) for given age and gender were confirmed as a simple and reliable indicator of decreased adrenal function, even in subjects with normal baseline cortisol or normal corticotropin-stimulated cortisol response. Combined lower DHEAS and lower baseline cortisol levels could be an example of hypocompetence of adrenocortical function, yet clinically not apparent.