Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) is an intersex condition that effects 1 in 10,000 to 18,000 people. Those with this condition have adrenal glands (glands above the kidneys that produce horomones such as cortisol and aldosterone) that do not properly function in adrenal horomone production. Because of this, horomone production is effected in both CTM and CTF individuals alike.

CTF individuals with this condition typically have an enlarged clitoris, ambiguous genitals, or a penis, however they may have a vagina as well. Although they may appear fully female at birth (if they have a vagina,) upon puberty they have a tendency to grow excessive body hair and facial hair, have severe acne, and irregular or absent periods. They may or may not be fertile, and able to reproduce. Because of this, they tend to fall under hyperandrogenism as well.

CTM individuals with this condition may also have hyper-masculine features, and will likely have an average penis.

Both CTF and CTM individuals with this condition tend to have an early puberty, early appearance of pubic hair, and rapid growth during childhood (however they stop growing at a smaller height than average.) Due to the condition of the glands on their kidneys, their bodies tend to fail at properly filtering, which causes an overfill of salt within the systems. This can be life-threatening if left untreated, however if treated, those with this condition typically grow up without issue.

Lipoid Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

Lipoid Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia or Lipoid CAH is an extreme form of CAH, in which both the adrenal glands and gonadal glands (the glands above the testicles and/or ovaries) does not function properly. This causes not only the adrenal horomone production to be effected, but the testosterone and estrogen production to be effected as well.

Those with this condition most commonly have a vagina (regardless of whether they have XY or XX chromosomes), however they may have ambiguous genitals or a penis as well, as well as hyperpigmented skin (meaning their skin tone is darker than expected.) Those with this condition often experience weakness and trouble with eating, and can get severely ill due to the lack of horomones as well as salt over-production or under-procution within the system. This can be treated with horomone replacement therapy and similar treatments to the kidneys.

Genetics

Those with these conditions typically were concieved by someone with CAH or Lipoid CAH themselves as well. This means that at least one or more of the concieving parents usually have these conditions, however this is not always the case.

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