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In what researchers describe as an “exceedingly rare” case, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-producing advanced adrenal gland cancer was determined to be the cause of Cushing’s syndrome in a 26-year-old woman in Portugal. Adrenocortical carcinoma is typically associated with ACTH-independent Cushing’s — forms of the syndrome in which excessive cortisol production is…

The rare case of a 14-year-old girl who experienced spontaneous remission of Cushing’s disease after pituitary tumor apoplexy has been reported by researchers in South America. Pituitary apoplexy, or PA, is a rare and potentially life-threatening condition caused by bleeding or infarction (cell death due to impaired blood flow)…

An invasive tumor in the thymus turned out to be the cause of a 31-year-old woman’s severe ectopic, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-dependent Cushing’s syndrome, according to a case recently reported in Poland. As initial imaging scans failed to detect the thymus lesion, a tumor in the left adrenal gland was suspected…

Mutations in the USP8 gene are found in 35% of the pituitary corticotroph adenomas that cause Cushing’s disease, and more commonly affect women than men, a review study found. Thus, targeting the gene and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) — whose levels are increased in patients with USP8 mutations…

People with Cushing’s disease are at an increased risk of complications, particularly psychiatric disorders requiring hospitalization, even after the disease-causing tumor has been surgically removed, a study indicates. Its findings “support the need for comprehensive clinical evaluation and tailored interventions for [Cushing’s disease] patients, even post-surgery,” the researchers wrote.

A protein found in tissues that produce and release hormones may be a biomarker to help distinguish Cushing’s disease from adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-dependent ectopic Cushing’s. That’s according to a recent study in Japan that also reported that chromogranin A was higher in people with ACTH-dependent ectopic Cushing’s than those…

Analyzing the gene activity profile of blood cells may help detect Cushing’s syndrome and could be useful in assessing its severity, a recent study reports. The study, “Whole blood transcriptomic signature of Cushing’s syndrome,” was published in the European Journal of Endocrinology. Cushing’s syndrome is an umbrella…

A 71-year-old woman developed cyclic Cushing’s syndrome, where periods of hypercortisolism alternate with periods of normal or low cortisol levels, as the result of a pheochromocytoma, a rare type of tumor that forms in the adrenal glands atop the kidneys. Cushing’s syndrome is due to high cortisol levels, or…

Severe hypokalemia, or extremely low blood potassium levels, may be the first manifestation of Cushing’s disease, as illustrated in a recent case report. The study described the case of a 48-year-old man with Cushing’s disease who had surgery to remove a pituitary macroadenoma, or a large pituitary tumor, but…

Lundbeck has launched a Phase 2 clinical trial to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of Lu AG13909, a potential first-in-class treatment for Cushing’s disease. “We are pleased to advance this new approach to potentially treating unmet needs in Cushing’s disease, a condition that, when uncontrolled, is debilitating…