News

Ultrasound scans can be useful to monitor muscle changes in patients with glucocorticoid-induced muscle disease or steroid myopathy, and could become an effective routine procedure for those with Cushing’s disease, a study reports. The study, “Ultrasound‑based detection of glucocorticoid‑induced impairments of muscle mass and structure in Cushing’s disease,” was published…

Recognizing discrepancies between blood tests of adenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels and patients’ clinical data is important for clinicians to avoid unnecessary testing or misdiagnosis, a case series highlights. The study, “Corticotropin hormone assay interference: A case series,” was published in the journal Clinical Biochemistry. Cushing’s syndrome comprises…

A first patient has been dosed in a Phase 3 trial testing relacorilant as a possible treatment for Cushing’s syndrome, the investigative treatment’s maker, Corcept Therapeutics, announced a press release. The trial, called GRACE (NCT03697109), is enrolling up to 130 endogenous Cushing’s patients at clinical sites in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Competent physicians and long-term medical care are the types of support that most help patients with Cushing’s syndrome cope with their condition, a patient-reported survey in the U.S. and Germany shows. U.S. and German patients, however, had different interests regarding other supportive…

Higher levels of sex corticosteroid hormones — such as testosterone — and an enzyme called lactate dehydrogenase may predict malignancies of adrenal masses in children, according to a study. Findings also revealed that malignant tumors — known as adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs) — were larger and associated with a worse prognosis than…

Mutations in USP48 and BRAF genes contribute to the overproduction of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) hormone by the pituitary gland and consequent development of Cushing’s disease, a study shows, linking these genes to the disease for a first time. The study, “Identification…

Pre-surgery treatment of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-independent Cushing’s syndrome with Metopirone (metyrapone) leads to effective and safe improvement of hormonal levels and clinical parameters, according to a new pilot study. The research, “Preoperative treatment with metyrapone in patients with Cushing’s syndrome due to adrenal adenoma: a pilot prospective…

Low-dose Lysodren (mitotane) can help restore growth rates and pubertal development, and lower body mass index (BMI) in children with Cushing’s disease who are not eligible for pituitary surgery. But side effects can be serious and need to be monitored closely, a study reports. The study, “Mitotane (op’DDD)…

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…