Cushing Syndrome

Pathophysiology

Cushing syndrome is a disorder that occurs when your body has a high level of the hormone cortisol. The most common cause of Cushing syndrome is taking too much glucocorticosteroid medicine. Prednisone, dexamethasone, and prednisolone are examples of this type of medicine.

Treatment

Cushing syndrome caused by corticosteroid use. Doctor will instruct to slowly decrease the medicine dosage. Stopping the medicine suddenly can be dangerous. If cannot stop taking the medicine because of disease, your high blood sugar, high cholesterol levels, and bone thinning or osteoporosis should be closely monitored.

Research

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a protein that drives the formation of pituitary tumors in Cushing's disease, a development that may give clinicians a therapeutic target to treat this potentially life-threatening disorder. Ongoing research into curing Cushing's syndrome should provide a promising future for individuals with the disease. Doctors can now diagnose Cushing's syndrome with 98 percent accuracy. Researchers are also looking for ways to cure Cushing's syndrome without surgery.

Statistics

Cases of Cushing's disease are rare, and few epidemiological data is available on the disease. The average incidence of newly diagnosed cases was 2.4 cases per million inhabitants per year. Several studies have shown that Cushing's disease is more prevalent in women than men at a ratio of 3-6:1, respectively.