Under dehydrated conditions, the cells may lose up to 28% or more of their water volume. This certainly undermines all cellular activities, whether they occur in skin cells, stomach cells, liver cells, kidney cells or heart cells.
In Addison's disease, the adrenal glands don't make enough of a hormone called cortisol, or less often, a related hormone called aldosterone. That's why doctors sometimes call the illness ''chronic adrenal insufficiency,'' or hypocortisolism.
Jennifer Hawkins, DVM. Addison's disease, or hypoadrenocorticism, is a hormonal disorder that is typically diagnosed in dogs, and considered rare in cats. In fact, while Addison's disease is still relatively uncommon in dogs, it occurs more frequently than with humans and commonly affects young to middle-aged female dogs.