Margarida Maia, PhD,  science writer—

A form of precise radiation therapy, called intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), may be safe and effective for Cushing’s disease when a tumor in the brain’s pituitary gland has not been completely removed or has returned after surgery, a study suggests. The study, “Intensity-modulated radiotherapy for cushing’s disease:…

People with Cushing’s syndrome, which is caused by excessive levels of the hormone cortisol in the body, may experience changes in brain activity during sleep, especially in the first half of their sleep cycle, a study has found. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which drives the adrenal glands sitting atop the kidneys…

People with Cushing’s disease who achieve remission — no matter how long that takes — are more likely to live a longer life than are patients who have active disease, a 20-year study found. Achieving remission, which is when symptoms ease or disappear, was linked to fewer deaths, also…

Cushing’s disease caused a bowel perforation — a rare complication in which a hole in the intestine allows its contents to leak — requiring a young man in Japan to undergo emergency surgery. His case was described in the report “Bowel perforation associated with Cushing’s disease: a case…

A young man developed an asymptomatic form of Cushing’s syndrome — called subclinical Cushing’s syndrome — as a result of a pheochromocytoma, a tumor that can form in the adrenal glands and is usually benign, according to a report from Nepal. “Diagnosing these conditions can be challenging as they…

For a young man in Brazil, Cushing’s syndrome caused by nodules in both adrenal glands was found to be the reason for his severe osteoporosis — a condition that causes bones to weaken and become prone to fracture — according to a case report. While noting that “the diagnosis of…

People with Cushing’s disease who have been in remission for years may have an imbalance in their gut microbiome — the group of all microorganisms living in the gut — and this may be the reason why their cardiovascular risk persists, a pilot study suggests. The small study included…

An antifungal medication called ketoconazole may be safe and effective for treating Cushing’s disease when pituitary surgery to remove a disease-causing tumor has failed to lower cortisol levels in the body, according to a new meta-analysis study. Researchers found that in nearly two-thirds of cases reported in the literature,…

A high-resolution MRI outperformed other types of MRI at detecting microadenomas — small benign (noncancerous) tumors that form in the brain’s pituitary gland and can cause Cushing’s disease. In a small study from China, about four in five people with Cushing’s received a correct diagnosis of a microadenoma with…

A woman developed Cushing’s syndrome as a result of a pheochromocytoma, a usually benign non-cancerous tumor that forms in the adrenal glands above the kidneys, a case study from Portugal reports. Because it’s so rare, “this diagnosis demands a high level of clinical suspicion and should be equated in the…