News

Surgically removing both adrenal glands is a safe and effective way to control excessive cortisol levels in people with Cushing’s disease who fail to improve after pituitary surgery or through medication, a study suggests. Findings also showed that levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol, as well as excess…

While men and women with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-dependent Cushing’s syndrome have distinct symptoms and signs, these differences do not justify divergent diagnostic or treatment approaches since both sexes have similar outcomes, a study shows. Disease recurrence and survival are comparable for both men and women with Cushing’s…

Positron emission tomography (PET) scans help identify neuroendocrine tumors causing ectopic Cushing’s syndrome in patients whose disease persisted or recurred after initial treatment, a new study suggests. The research, “68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in detecting neuroendocrine tumours responsible for initial or recurrent paraneoplastic Cushing’s syndrome,” was published in the journal…

High doses of radiation therapy delivered over two-to-five sessions offer results similar to that of radiation given in a single high-dose session for Cushing’s disease patients whose cortisol levels remain high after surgery, a retrospective study found. Unlike the single-dose approach, this multi-session therapy may also be a safe and convenient option for…

Having Cushing’s disease can increase a person’s risk of infectious disease complications like tuberculous meningitis — when the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis affects the central nervous system — a case report suggests. The study, “Tuberculous Meningitis in a Patient with Cushing’s Disease: Glucocorticoid-mediated Immunosuppression:…

When multiple tumors in the pituitary gland lead to overproduction of  hormones besides ACTH, patients may have features of Cushing’s disease and a wide array of additional symptoms, a case report suggests. The study, “Double pituitary adenomas with synchronous somatotroph and corticotroph clinical presentation of acromegaly and…

Next month’s annual conference of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) in Washington, D.C., couldn’t come at a better time, says Marshall Summar, MD, chairman of NORD’s board of directors. “The pace of discovery in rare diseases has gone from brisk to hypersonic,” Summar told Bionews Services, publisher…

The oral investigational treatment Recorlev (levoketoconazole) leads to sustained improvements in the control of cortisol among patients with endogenous Cushing’s syndrome, a Phase 3 trial shows. The trial’s findings were reported in the study “Efficacy and safety of levoketoconazole in the treatment of endogenous Cushing’s…

In patients with Cushing’s disease, removing the pituitary tumor via an endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) leads to better remission rates than microscopic TSS, according to new research. But regardless of surgical approach, plasma cortisol levels one day after surgery are predictive of remission, researchers found. The study, “…

Delusions — fixed beliefs that do not change even when confronted with refutable evidence — are among the mental manifestations that can be  primary symptoms of Cushing’s disease, a case report suggests. The study, “Losing my mind: an uncommon presentation of Cushing’s disease,” was published in…