Injury: 1  Crushing the base of the nail or the nail bed may cause a permanent deformity. 2  Chronic picking or rubbing of the skin behind the nail can cause median nail dystrophy, which gives a lengthwise split or ridged appearance of the thumbnails. 3  Long-term exposure to moisture or nail polish can cause nails to peel and become brittle. Infection: Fungus or yeast cause changes in the color, texture, and shape of the nails. Bacterial infection may cause a change in nail color or painful areas of infection under the nail or in the surrounding skin. Severe infections may cause nail loss. Paronychia is an infection around the nailfold and cuticle. Viral warts may cause a change in the shape of the nail or ingrown skin under the nail. Certain infections (especially of the heart valve) may cause red streaks in the nail bed (splinter hemorrhages). Diseases:
Autoantibodies to 21-hydroxylase are present in 90% of cases. Family studies have shown that Addisonâs disease has a genetic component with HLA class II the most strongly associated genetic region. Addisonâs disease is associated with DRB1*03:01-DQB1*02 (DR17, DQ2) and DRB1*04-DQB1*03:02 (DR4, DQ8). The most strongly associated DRB1*04 allele is DRB1*04:04.
Tests and diagnosis discussion for Addison's Disease: A diagnosis of Addison's disease is made by biochemical laboratory tests. The aim of these tests is first to determine whether there are insufficient levels of cortisol and then to establish the cause.