Symptoms And Symptoms Of Cushing s Syndrome - 1680 Words

Abstract Cushing’s syndrome is an endocrine disorder resulting from excess levels of cortisol in the blood. The etiology can be exogenous or endogenous, which can be further broken down into adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) dependent and independent. The pathogenesis of Cushing’s syndrome depends on the cause, and generally results in the disruption of the normal functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Cushing’s syndrome is characterized by a variety of signs and symptoms, and treatment varies depending on the etiology. Currently research is being conducted on diagnostic tests for this disorder. Introduction Cushing’s syndrome is an endocrine disorder that is characterized by multiple signs and symptoms resulting†¦show more content†¦Endogenous Cushing’s syndrome results when the high levels of cortisol originate from within the body. The most common causes of endogenous Cushing’s syndrome are adrenal, pituitary or ectopic tumours. These tumours lead to a disruption of the normal functioning of the HPA axis. Exogenous Cushing’s syndrome results when the high levels of cortisol in the blood is a direct result of some factor outside of the body, such as the administration of therapeutic steroids (Bronstein 2011). The endogenous component of Cushing’s syndrome can be further broken down into ACTH dependent and ACTH independent. ACTH-dependent causes account for the majority of cases (80%) (Bronstein 2011). Pituitary adenomas account for 80% of ACTH-dependent causes, with the remaining 20% resulting from ectopic tumours. These ectopic tumours are generally small-cell carcinomas of the lungs, but may also result from endocrine tumours on a variety of organs (Newell-Price et al. 2006). ACTH-independent causes typically result from various tumours on the adrenal glands, resulting in the direct secretion of cortisol into the blood. In extremely rare cases, ACTH-independent Cushing’s syndrome can be caused by corticotropin-independent macronodular adrenal disease and McCune-Albright syndrome (Newell-Price et al. 2006). Pathogenesis Once a diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome is confirmed, the cause of this syndrome must be determined. Each subsequent cause has