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About 100 scientists, researchers, pharmaceutical executives, and others will converge on Austria’s capital city early next month for the 2nd International Congress on Advanced Treatments in Rare Diseases. The March 4-5 meeting, to take place at the Hilton Am Stadtpark Vienna, features 27 speakers on a variety of disorders…

Mutations in the GNAS gene might indicate patients with subclinical Cushing’s syndrome — mild cortisol elevation without physical signs of Cushing’s — whose disease is caused by distinct mechanisms of other Cushing’s syndrome patients. Screening for GNAS gene mutations may help diagnose patients with this type of Cushing’s syndrome and improve their outcomes,…

A study reports that intravenous infusion with etomidate can stabilize dangerously high cortisol in Cushing’s syndrome patients experiencing episodes of cortisol excess. The study, “Continuous Etomidate Infusion for the Management of Severe Cushing Syndrome: Validation of a Standard Protocol,” was published in Journal of the Endocrine Society. Cushing’s…

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy — a minimally invasive procedure that removes the adrenal glands through a tiny hole in the abdomen — can be safely performed in obese patients with Cushing’s syndrome, a retrospective study reports. The surgery resolved symptoms in 95% of cases, reducing cortisol levels, lowering blood pressure, and leading to…

Ocular hypertension — increased blood pressure inside the eye — might be a secondary symptom of Cushing’s disease, caused by long-term exposure to high cortisol levels, a case report shows. The study, “Ocular hypertension secondary to high endogenous steroid load in Cushing’s disease,” was published in BMJ…

A shorter duration of adrenal insufficiency — when the adrenal gland is not working properly — after surgical removal of a pituitary tumor may predict recurrence in Cushing’s disease patients, a new study suggests. The study, “Recovery of the adrenal function after pituitary surgery in patients with Cushing Disease:…

Tumors located outside the pituitary gland that produce the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) may cause, on rare occasions, cyclic Cushing’s syndrome — when cortisol levels show substantial fluctuations over time. That finding, based on the case of a patient with ACTH-secreting lung cancer,  is found in the study, “Cyclic Cushing’s syndrome caused…