News

For people with Cushing’s disease who have pituitary tumors that are not visible by MRI, careful exploratory surgery coupled with initial analyses to identify the location of a tumor can be used to achieve remission, a new study highlights. “The rate of MRI-negative [tumors] is reported to be between…

Mutations in the GPR101 and USP8 genes might have contributed to the growth of a particularly large and aggressive pituitary tumor that caused Cushing’s disease in a young girl. The case was described in the report, “Concurrent mutations of germline GPR101 and somatic USP8 in a pediatric giant…

Treatment with Isturisa (osilodrostat) normalized urine cortisol levels up to nearly 1.5 years in people with Cushing’s disease, according to data from the Phase 3 LINC-4 clinical trial. Data from another Phase 3 trial, LINC-3 (NCT02180217), showed that testosterone levels were generally stable among Cushing’s patients treated with…

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…