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Accurately locating tumors in the brain’s pituitary gland by inferior petrosal sinus sampling or IPSS — an invasive test that’s been considered the gold standard for diagnosing Cushing’s disease — may not necessarily lead to better outcomes after surgery, according to a new meta-analysis. While IPSS correctly determined…

Surgery to remove adrenal tumors without taking the entire adrenal gland — given to Cushing’s syndrome patients to lower cortisol levels — associated with better outcomes than surgeries that remove all of the adrenal gland, a study reports. Benefits included a shorter period of dependency on corticorteroids after surgery and…

A 32-year-old woman with a rare case of two pituitary tumors required two surgeries to treat her Cushing’s disease, according to a recent report. Her disease was caused by one tumor, or adenoma, that resulted in high amounts of the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). The other tumor, called a prolactinoma, causes…

Cushing’s syndrome in a 45-year-old woman was complicated by primary aldosteronism, the result of tumors in the adrenal glands secreting both cortisol and aldosterone, according to a case reported in China. Aldosteronism occurs when the adrenal glands produce high levels of aldosterone, a hormone that regulates blood pressure and balances…

An 81-year-old woman being treated for a severe and persistent electrolyte imbalance was found to have a tumor in her lung which eventually led to her diagnosis of ectopic Cushing’s syndrome, according to a case report. Electrolytes are minerals in body fluids that carry an electric charge and are vital…

A woman with Cushing’s syndrome developed an ulcer that caused a gastrointestinal perforation, or a hole in the digestive tract, according to a case study. Because she had no established risk factors for such a complication, researchers suggested prolonged exposure to high levels of cortisol, or hypercortisolism, may have contributed…

Surgery can partially reverse functional impairments in brain networks in people with Cushing’s disease after three months, when their cortisol levels return to normal, according to a recent study. Researchers say elevated cortisol levels in patients with active disease are linked to connectivity impairments in three large-scale functional brain…

Radiation therapy, which is often used when surgery fails to completely remove a pituitary tumor, led to the development of a secondary and aggressive tumor in a woman with Cushing’s disease. “Our case highlights a rare but devastating long-term complication of pituitary tumor irradiation after Cushing disease. The…

The unusual case of a woman with Cushing’s syndrome caused by an adrenal tumor who experienced recurring episodes of blood clots in the lungs was described in a recent report. The study, “Adrenocorticotropic hormone-secreting phaeochromocytoma as a cause of treatment-resistant hypertension and recurrent pulmonary emboli,” was published…

Analyzing the levels of a molecule called S1P — fully known as sphingosine-1-phosphate — in the tissue surrounding a pituitary gland tumor in Cushing’s disease patients can help determine the side of the gland on which the tumor is located. That’s according to a study that made use of…