Cushing syndrome

Cushing syndrome, disorder caused by overactivity of the adrenal cortex. If caused by a tumour of the pituitary gland, it is called Cushing disease.

In 1932 American neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing described the clinical findings that provided the link between specific physical characteristics (e.g., abnormal obesity of the face and trunk) and a specific type of pituitary tumour. This pituitary disorder became known as Cushing syndrome. However, it later became clear that many patients with similar symptoms and signs did not have a pituitary tumour. Thus, the term Cushing syndrome has been modified to refer to all patients with the classic symptoms and signs of the condition, regardless of the cause, while the term Cushing disease is restricted to patients in whom the symptoms and signs are caused by an adrenocorticotropic hormone- (ACTH-) secreting pituitary tumour. Among patients with spontaneously occurring Cushing syndrome, about 70 percent have Cushing disease.

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Although Cushing syndrome is a relatively rare disease, it is four times as common in women as in men and may appear during or just following pregnancy. It can occur at any age but most typically appears during the third to sixth decades of life.

Causes

Cushing syndrome is caused by the excessive secretion of cortisol (hydrocortisone) by the adrenal cortex. In general, anything that increases the adrenal gland’s secretion of glucocorticoid hormones will cause Cushing syndrome, including adrenal tumours and overproduction of ACTH, which is the major pituitary hormone regulating adrenal function. Excess ACTH may result from pituitary tumours (Cushing disease), as in Cushing’s first group of symptomatic patients, or from inappropriate production of the hormone by other tissues that do not ordinarily make ACTH (ectopic corticotropin syndrome).

Tumours of the adrenal cortex that give rise to Cushing syndrome may be benign or malignant (adenomas and carcinomas); these types of tumours occur in about 10 percent of patients. ACTH-producing tumours of nonendocrine tissues that do not normally produce corticotropin occur in about 20 percent of patients. Tumours of the hypothalamus in the brain or tumours of other tissues that produce corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) rarely cause the disease. Iatrogenic Cushing syndrome is far more common than any of the disorders described above and is caused by the therapeutic administration of high doses of glucocorticoids, usually in the form of prednisone, prednisolone, or dexamethasone. Glucocorticoid drugs are commonly used for the treatment of chronic inflammatory and allergic disorders and for immunosuppression.

Symptoms

For the most part, the symptoms and signs of Cushing syndrome are caused by excess cortisol. However, depending on the cause, there may also be symptoms and signs of excess mineralocorticoids, androgens, or ACTH. The most common symptoms and signs of excess levels of cortisol in the body are obesity, facial plethora (facial redness), violaceous abdominal striae (purple or bluish stripes on the abdomen), thinning of the skin that leads to spontaneous bruising, muscle weakness and wasting, back pain, osteopenia and osteoporosis, depression and other psychological symptoms, hypertension, and menstrual disturbances (oligomenorrhea and amenorrhea) in women. Weight gain associated with excess cortisol occurs in a peculiar distribution, with fat accumulation confined to the central body areas, such as the abdomen, back, and buttocks. In contrast, the extremities, such as the arms and legs, are thin as a result of loss of muscle mass. Excess fat deposits also occur in the cheeks, giving rise to a “moon face,” as well as in the anterior neck, producing a “dewlap,” or in the upper back, producing a “buffalo hump.” Excess levels of cortisol also cause increased gluconeogenesis (formation of glucose from noncarbohydrate sources) and decreased insulin sensitivity, which may give rise to diabetes mellitus. Patients with adrenal cancer may have increased production of adrenal androgens that cause excess hair growth (hirsutism), virilization (characterized by frontal balding and deepening of the voice), and menstrual abnormalities in women. Patients with ectopic corticotropin syndrome may have hyperpigmentation and mineralocorticoid excess.

Diagnosis and treatment

A diagnosis of Cushing syndrome is often confirmed by the presence of high levels of cortisol in the serum, saliva, or urine. The different causes of Cushing syndrome are distinguished from one another by measurements of serum ACTH and serum cortisol concentrations before and after the administration of dexamethasone. If the production of excess cortisol is caused by Cushing disease (a pituitary tumour), cortisol production decreases after the administration of dexamethasone, whereas cortisol production will not decrease if the cause is an adrenal tumour. In addition, imaging studies directed toward identification of a pituitary or adrenal tumour or a tumour of nonendocrine tissue are used to distinguish the underlying cause of excess cortisol production.

Treatment of Cushing syndrome depends upon the specific cause. Many manifestations of the syndrome disappear when the cause of cortisol excess is removed. If the cause is from ACTH or glucocorticoid treatment, remission occurs when treatment is discontinued. Pituitary tumours can be surgically removed in about 80 percent of patients with Cushing disease, and radiation therapy can be used to destroy the tumour if surgery is not an option or if the tumour cannot be removed completely. Adrenal tumours can be surgically removed, and patients with benign tumours are usually cured in this way. Complete surgical removal of an adrenal cancer is often impossible, and even when possible the patients are rarely cured. While these patients can be treated with drugs, such as ketoconazole and mitotane, to reduce cortisol secretion and slow tumour growth, most die within one to four years after diagnosis. Patients with ectopic ACTH-producing tumours are treated by surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Occasionally, if the pituitary or nonendocrine tumour cannot be controlled, both adrenal glands may have to be removed. The ensuing adrenal insufficiency is treated in the same way as spontaneously occurring adrenal insufficiency. In patients with Cushing disease, bilateral adrenalectomy is sometimes followed by pituitary tumour growth and intense skin pigmentation, a combination known as Nelson syndrome.

Daily treatment with cortisol is essential if the adrenal glands have been completely removed and may also be necessary after partial removal of these glands. However, even when Cushing syndrome has been eradicated, some of the changes produced by the disorder may continue. For example, this is true of heart, blood vessel, and kidney changes and of osteoporosis.