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Mifepristone, a medicine that blocks glucocorticoid hormone effects, may be useful for preventing adrenal insufficiency in people with Cushing’s syndrome, following surgery to remove adrenal glands, a study using rats suggests. The study, “Glucocorticoid Receptor Antagonist Administration Prevents Adrenal…

With an estimated 1.37 billion inhabitants, India will likely surpass China in five years as the world’s most populous country. That also means it will have more rare-disease patients than any nation. It already has more than twice as many as the 28-member European Union. Harsha K. Rajasimha, a genomics…

Corcept Therapeutics is recruiting participants for its Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating relacorilant as a potential treatment for Cushing’s syndrome-related side effects such as high blood pressure and impaired glucose tolerance. Also, findings from the study “A Randomized-Withdrawal, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 3 Study to Assess the Efficacy and…

Serum cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels may be useful in identifying Cushing’s syndrome patients at risk of experiencing low blood potassium levels while being treated with Korlym (mifepristone), Corcept Therapeutics’ researchers report. Their work, “Anticipating Hypokalemia in Patients With ACTH-Dependent Cushing Syndrome Treated…

Elevated cortisol levels in people with subclinical Cushing’s syndrome appear to increase their likelihood of metabolic disease — a group of factors that raise the risk of heart disease — even though these patients don’t have the typical weight gain seen in overt Cushing’s syndrome, a study suggests. Results of the…

Increased cortisol secretion may follow a cyclic pattern in patients with adrenal incidentalomas, a phenomenon that may lead to misdiagnosis, a study reports. Since cyclic subclinical hypercortisolism may increase the risk for heart problems, researchers recommend extended follow-up with repeated tests to measure cortisol levels in these patients. The study,…

Changes in salivary cortisol after desmopressin stimulation could be a supplementary tool in the diagnosis of Cushing’s disease, according to Brazilian researchers. Their study, “Desmopressin Stimulated Salivary Cortisol as a Supplementary Tool in the Diagnosis of Cushing’s Syndrome,” was presented at the recent Endocrine Society meeting (ENDO 2019) in New…

Blocking the EGFR signaling pathway using the breast cancer treatment lapatinib significantly reduces the amount of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) produced by pituitary tumor cells and their proliferation in mice, a preclinical study shows. The findings suggest lapatinib — marketed as Tykerb by Novartis in the United States…

Novartis is launching a Phase 2 trial to assess the safety and efficacy of its investigational therapy osilodrostat — an inhibitor of cortisol synthesis — in children with Cushing’s disease. The Phase 2 trial (NCT03708900) is expected to enroll 12 pediatric patients, from 6 to 18 years, who…

Strongbridge Biopharma‘s Recorlev (levoketoconazole) continues to show clinically meaningful improvements in the control of cortisol among patients with endogenous Cushing’s syndrome, a Phase 3 clinical trial shows. Cushing’s syndrome is caused by the excessive production of the hormone cortisol by the adrenal glands, which sit atop…