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Bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling (BIPSS) — a diagnostic technique for Cushing’s disease that measures the levels of the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) hormone produced by the pituitary gland — is not as accurate as previously reported in children and adolescents with Cushing’s, a retrospective study shows. However, BIPSS sensitivity improved following…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the clinical use of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner — the ultra-high-field 7T Terra MRI — with unprecedented resolution that allows for more reliable images of the brain. The approach recently allowed the precise localization of a small tumor…

Strongbridge Biopharma released additional positive results from a Phase 3 trial evaluating whether the company’s investigational therapy Recorlev (levoketoconazole) is safe and effective for people with endogenous Cushing’s syndrome. The latest results were presented in the scientific poster “Safety and Efficacy of Levoketoconazole in Cushing Syndrome: …

Pituitary tumor conditions, such as Cushing’s disease, have a substantial effect on patients’ work capabilities and health-related quality of life, researchers from The Netherlands reported. The study, “Work disability and its determinants in patients with pituitary tumor-related disease,” was published in the journal Pituitary. Pituitary tumors, like…

With the U.S. midterm elections now less than two weeks away, patient advocacy groups are solidly focused on a range of hot-button issues, from the Orphan Drug Tax Credit and affordable health insurance to future funding for rare disease research. Yet “whether Democrats take over the House or Senate,…

A recent case report describes a 7-year-old boy with Cushing’s disease who had an unusual clinical presentation, which significantly delayed his diagnosis. The study, “A variable course of Cushing’s disease in a 7 year old: diagnostic dilemma,” was published in the Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Cushing’s disease patients whose pituitary tumors carry a USP8 mutation are more likely to achieve remission after surgery than those without such mutations, a retrospective Italian study found. The study, “Clinical characteristics and surgical outcome in USP8-mutated human adrenocorticotropic hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas,” was published in the journal…

An important cellular pathway involved in multiple cancers could potentially be targeted to treat adrenal cancers that cause Cushing’s syndrome, a study has found. The study, “MAPK/ERK pathway inhibition is a promising treatment target for adrenocortical tumors,”…

A patient with depression developed Cushing’s syndrome (CS) because of a rare ACTH-secreting small cell cancer of the prostate, a case study reports. The case report, “An unusual cause of depression in an older man: Cushing’s syndrome resulting from metastatic small cell cancer of the…

Keytruda (pembrolizumab) may not be effective in Lynch syndrome patients — those with inherited mutations in certain DNA repair genes — who develop Cushing’s syndrome due to cortisol-secreting metastatic adrenal cancer, a case report suggests. The report, “Rapid disease progression in a patient with mismatch…