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Doctors often prescribe somatostatin analogs to manage the hormonal imbalance that characterizes Cushing’s syndrome. However, in rare situations these medicines have paradoxically made patients worse than better. This recently happened with a 48-year-old Spanish woman whose Cushing’s syndrome was caused by an adrenal gland tumor that was producing excess adrenocorticotropic…

Inhaled steroids can cause Cushing’s syndrome if they are combined with medications that block liver enzymes, researchers at Spain’s Hospital Son Llátzer warn in a new study. While very low levels of inhaled steroids normally reach the blood, medications blocking these liver enzymes can boost their concentration and lead to Cushing’s…

Nizoral (ketoconazole), an off-label inhibitor of steroid hormone production, can change the way the body distributes and absorbs Korlym (mifepristone), a new study finds. Because doctors sometimes prescribe both drugs simultaneously to Cushing’s syndrome patients, they need to better understand how these drugs interact to ensure the best doses…

Children’s National Health System no longer treats just kids. Its Rare Disease Institute, launched in April 2017, has partnered with the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) to become the first of many U.S. “centers of excellence” to look after patients with rare diseases, regardless of age. The effort…

A long-acting, once-a-month treatment of Signifor (pasireotide) normalized cortisol levels in 40% of patients with Cushing’s disease whose disease had recurred after surgery, or who were not candidates for surgery, according to new data from a Phase 3 trial. The safety profiles of the once-monthly regimen proved to…

A rare case of Cushing’s syndrome (CS) in a 17-year-old patient with multiple pituitary adenomas highlights the importance of clinical follow-up in order to determine the best treatment options for patients. The study, “A rare case of multiple pituitary adenomas in an adolescent Cushing disease presenting as a…

The effects of obesity on the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome and strategies to alter the traditional approaches have been addressed in a new review study. The study, “Diagnosis and Differential Diagnosis of Cushing’s Syndrome,” appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine. The author…

More therapies are now available for the 30 million or so people with rare diseases in the U.S. than ever before, and millions of dollars are being invested in clinical studies that will test new ways of evaluating — and advancing — potential treatments, including the use of natural history…

A test for cortisone in saliva, collected late at night, or early in the morning after suppression with dexamethasone, was found to be accurate for measuring high levels of cortisol (hypercortisolism), which are believed to cause Cushing’s syndrome. This suggests that only a simple, non-invasive test is needed to monitor…

Researchers have identified a new, quick method for detecting ACTH-producting tumors – called Elecsys – that can improve the cure rates of Cushing’s disease patients undergoing surgery. The study, “Long-term outcomes of tissue-based ACTH-antibody assay–guided transsphenoidal resection of pituitary adenomas in Cushing disease,” was published in the…