What is Cushing's Syndrome?

Cushing’s syndrome is a hormonal disorder. It occurs from extended exposure of the body to high levels of cortisol. Most commonly, this is caused by oral corticosteroid medicine. Cushing’s syndrome is also known as hypercortisolism.

Community Statistics

21 community members

4 community discussions

0 community resources

Description

Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement of Cushing's Syndrome has not been added yet.

Prevalence

1.0

Synonyms

Synonyms for Cushing's Syndrome has not been added yet.

Cause

Cushing's Syndrome occurs when the body is exposed to high levels of cortisol for long periods of time. Many people develop Cushing's Syndrome because of glucocorticoid hormones such as prednisone for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other inflammatory diseases, or for immunosuppression after transplantation. Some people develop Cushing's Syndrome because of overproduction of cortisol by the body due to a pituitary adenoma which secretes excess ACTH, an adrenal adenoma which secretes excess cortisol, or an ectopic tumor which may secrete either ACTH or cortisol..

Symptoms

Most individuals affected experience moon face and central obesity. If they are children, they commonly experience slow growth rate. Skin infections, acne, slow healing, striae on the skin, and easy bruising also occur. Backache, bone pain and tenderness, fractures, and muscle weakness are also symptoms. In addition, a buffalo hump, or a mass of fat between the shoulders and above the collarbone, may form. Gender specific symptoms are excessive hair growth and irregular menstruation for women, and decreased libido and impotence for men. Other possible symptoms are mental changes, such as depression or anxiety, cognitive difficulties, fatigue, headache, hypertension, glucose intolerance, and more thirst and urination.

Name	Description
Rapid weight gain	Rapid weight gain
Excess sweating	Excess sweating
Telangiectasia	Telangiectasia is the dilation of capillaries.
Severe fatigue	Severe fatigue
Striae	Striae are irregular areas of skin that look like bands, stripes, or lines.
Buffalo hump	Buffalo hump
High blood pressure	High blood pressure that is often hard to control even with medication
High blood sugars and/or insulin resistance	High blood sugars and/or insulin resistance
Insomnia	Insomnia
Altered diurnal rhythm	Altered diurnal rhythm
Secondary hypothyroidism	Secondary hypothyroidism
Low hormones	Low hormones such as FH, LSH, testosterone, growth hormone
Low vitamin D	Low vitamin D
Low ferritin	Low ferritin
Easy bruising	Easy bruising
Muscle, bone, and joint pain	Unexplained muscle, bone, and joint pain
Muscle weakness	Muscle weakness
Hirsutism	Hirsutism is increased facial hair/body hair
Loss of menstrual cycle and/or ovulation	Loss of menstrual cycle and/or ovulation
Loss of libido	Loss of libido
Galactorrhea	Galactorrhea
Loss of hair on head	Loss of hair on head
Difficulty when drawing blood	Difficulty when drawing blood

Diagnosis

A diagnosis is made with regards to the individual’s medical history, physical examination,, and laboratory tests. Extra tests are done, once Cushing’s syndrome has been diagnosed, to determine the cause of the excess cortisol production, be it inside the body or due to ingestion of cortisone.

Diagnostic Test

Diagnostic tests of Cushing's Syndrome has not been added yet

Treatment

If Cushing’s syndrome is being caused by corticosteroid use, a doctor will decrease corticosteroid use. In the event that this is not possible, other symptoms will be managed. If Cushing’s syndrome is being caused by a pituitary tumor, surgery, radiation, and cortisol replacement therapy may be required. In the case of an adrenal or other tumor, surgery may be required.

Prognosis

Tumor removal may lead to full recovery, or the condition may return. Cushing’s syndrome can be life-threatening if left untreated, and can result in diabetes, enlargement of the pituitary tumor, bone fractures, hypertension, kidney stones, and infections.

Tips or Suggestions

Name	Description
C	It is crucial for individuals with Cushing’s syndrome to not push themselves too hard physically, eat healthily, and monitor their mental health. Cognitive issues resulting from Cushing’s syndrome may improve through mental exercises such as Sudoku. Pain can be alleviated with low-impact exercise, hot baths, and massages.

References

References of Cushing's Syndrome has not been added yet.

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Cushing's Syndrome? Created by vijhoni62
Last updated 6 May 2019, 09:51 AM

Posted by vijhoni62
6 May 2019, 09:51 AM

Cushing's Syndrome?

I would like to hear from people who have had or currently have Cushing's Syndrome. I want to know what your symptoms were and what treatment you had. I have read about it but I know disorders do not always effect all people in the same ways.

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Welcome to the Cushing's corner! Created by fatnsassy
Last updated 28 Dec 2008, 02:22 AM

Posted by staticnrg
28 Dec 2008, 02:22 AM

Hey, ladies, I just joined and updated some of the info that was there. I'm not sure if they don't like what I said about the diagnostic tests or if they are waiting on approval....hmmmmmm...

Posted by suitechic1979
4 Aug 2008, 12:45 AM

Hi Gracie and everyone else. Thanks for joining me so I wasn't a loner in this group. :) I thought it would be nice to have a group here when I saw it and thought that we can help others learn about this illness. If anyone wants to add anything, I think that would be really cool.. to give more information about this disease. Welcome everyone!

Posted by fatnsassy
3 Aug 2008, 11:22 PM

I see there are three of us here now. Thanks for letting us know about this site Suitechic! It's another way for us to get the word out, and share our knowledge! Hopefully we will meet even more people through this site, and be able to help others as well. Hugs, Gracie

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Welcome to RareShare Created by biotechguy
Last updated 19 Dec 2008, 10:31 PM

Posted by biotechguy
19 Dec 2008, 10:31 PM

Hi Everyone, My name is David Isserman and I am one of the co-creators of RareShare. I just wanted to quickly welcome you all to the Site. If you ever have any questions about RareShare or suggestions on improving the Site, please feel free to contact me at david@rareshare.org. David

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Community External News Link

Title	Date	Link

Community Resources

Title	Description	Date	Link
Cushings Help Organization	Cushings Help Organization provides information, support, RSS feeds, news, and education for people with Cushing's or other endocrine problems, their friends and families. Cushing's syndrome is a hormonal disorder.	03/20/2017
Survive the Journey	A blog about the journey of a Cushing's Disease survivor. There you will find information on testing, diagnosis, and treatment. The latest research is outlined, also. The author talks about the personal side of her journey at times, and she relates the medical aspects in language anyone can understand.	03/20/2017

Title

Description

Date

Link

Cushings Help Organization

Cushings Help Organization provides information, support, RSS feeds, news, and education for people with Cushing's or other endocrine problems, their friends and families. Cushing's syndrome is a hormonal disorder.

03/20/2017

Survive the Journey

A blog about the journey of a Cushing's Disease survivor. There you will find information on testing, diagnosis, and treatment. The latest research is outlined, also.

The author talks about the personal side of her journey at times, and she relates the medical aspects in language anyone can understand.

03/20/2017

Clinical Trials

CoRDS, or the Coordination of Rare Diseases at Sanford, is based at Sanford Research in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It provides researchers with a centralized, international patient registry for all rare diseases. This program allows patients and researchers to connect as easily as possible to help advance treatments and cures for rare diseases. The CoRDS team works with patient advocacy groups, individuals and researchers to help in the advancement of research in over 7,000 rare diseases. The registry is free for patients to enroll and researchers to access.

Enrolling is easy.

Complete the screening form.
Review the informed consent.
Answer the permission and data sharing questions.

After these steps, the enrollment process is complete. All other questions are voluntary. However, these questions are important to patients and their families to create awareness as well as to researchers to study rare diseases. This is why we ask our participants to update their information annually or anytime changes to their information occur.

Researchers can contact CoRDS to determine if the registry contains participants with the rare disease they are researching. If the researcher determines there is a sufficient number of participants or data on the rare disease of interest within the registry, the researcher can apply for access. Upon approval from the CoRDS Scientific Advisory Board, CoRDS staff will reach out to participants on behalf of the researcher. It is then up to the participant to determine if they would like to join the study.

Visit sanfordresearch.org/CoRDS to enroll.