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Transsphenoidal surgery (TSS), a minimally invasive surgery to remove tumors from the brain’s pituitary gland, was deemed safe and effective to treat Cushing’s disease in a 67-year-old woman, as described in a recent case report. While TSS is usually avoided in older patients due to a higher risk of…

A bilateral adrenalectomy — a surgery to remove both adrenal glands — to lower cortisol levels in patients with Cushing’s syndrome was associated with more severe post-surgery complications and a higher mortality rate, compared with unilateral adrenalectomy, a study has found. “If indicated, bilateral adrenalectomy is a feasible option for…

The levels of an enzyme that activates glucocorticoids, including cortisol, from their inactive forms, are increased in abdominal fat tissue — abdominal obesity is a hallmark of Cushing’s syndrome — in two mouse models of glucocorticoid excess. Importantly, the enzyme, called 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD-1), also was found…

People with Cushing’s disease have structural and functional changes in the hippocampus — a brain region involved in memory, emotions, and stress responses — relative to healthy individuals, a small study shows. All four hippocampus subregions were smaller in Cushing’s patients and the connectivity to brain networks involved in…

Lowering excess cortisol within cells using SPI-62, an investigational treatment of Cushing’s-related conditions, did not affect urinary cortisol levels, a standard measure of therapy effectiveness in clinical trials, an analysis of previous trial data showed. “Normalized urinary free cortisol, or UFC, is a standard therapeutic target for patients with Cushing’s…

CRN04894, a first-in-class, experimental oral medication for Cushing’s disease, led to a dose-dependent drop in blood and urine cortisol levels in healthy volunteers, top-line data from a Phase 1 trial showed. According to Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, the therapy’s developer, patient studies are expected to launch later this year. In…

The case of a woman with a rare form of Cushing’s syndrome whose main symptom was blurry vision was described in a recent report. The report, “Intermittent Blurry Vision: An Unexpected Presentation of Cushing’s Syndrome Due to Primary Bilateral Macronodular Adrenal Hyperplasia (PBMAH),” was published in…

Nearly 1.5 years of treatment with Isturisa (osilodrostat) rapidly and sustainably eased — and in many cases completely eliminated — disease-associated physical features in people with Cushing’s disease, according to data from the Phase 3 LINC 3 trial. Improvements were noted from early on, consistent with the…

Continuous treatment with Recorlev (levoketoconazole) helped to lower blood cholesterol levels in adults with endogenous Cushing’s syndrome, according to data from the Phase 3 LOGICS trial. Scientists at Xeris Biopharma, the company that markets Recorlev, presented the findings in the poster “Levoketoconazole in the Treatment of Endogenous…

Pituitary tumors producing excessive amounts of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) — the most common cause of Cushing’s disease — carry more genetic abnormalities than those not generating excess ACTH levels, also called non-functioning tumors, a small study shows. The data also identified two genes that may be involved in the…