• Failure of endocrine feedback. This can occur when one gland fails to stimulate the other. For instance, the hypothalamus produces a hormone signaling the pituitary to secrete another hormone whose function is to stimulate a third endocrine gland such as the adrenal glands. Failure at the top of the cascade causes errors at subsequent stages.
• Autoimmune disorder. When the immune system of the body mistakenly attacks healthy cells instead of pathogens and foreign bodies, this is known as an autoimmune disorder. Examples of endocrine disorders caused by erratic immune response include juvenile diabetes and Addison’s disease.
• Removal of a gland.
• Infection affecting a certain gland.
• Tumors or other abnormal growths affecting the endocrine glands.
• Injury to an endocrine gland.
• Defects in the receptors of the target organs or tissues. Sometimes, this is the underlying cause of type 2 diabetes.