Cushing's disease

When Cushing's disease [ kʊʃɪŋ ], named after Harvey Williams Cushing, a condition in which a tumor in the ACTH -producing cells ( Corticotrophs ) of the pituitary gland (hypophysis ) is called, produces too much ACTH, which makes it and to increased stimulation of the adrenal cortex comes as a result of an excessive production of cortisol. The symptoms are (, hypercortisolism " too much cortisol " ) called Cushing's syndrome. However, Cushing's syndrome can also result from other causes, but you do not called Cushing's disease.

Causes

Cushing's disease refers to a by a Corticotrophinom (ACTH - producing pituitary tumor ) caused hypercortisolism.

Disease

The symptoms and thus the clinical picture is generally the Cushing's syndrome:

Symptoms of the disease can a round moon face, truncal obesity (thin arms and legs, thick trunk with " buffalo hump " ), weight gain, decreased muscle mass and increased bone fragility (osteoporosis), high blood pressure ( hypertension ), disorders of carbohydrate metabolism ( increased thirst and frequent urination ), impotence, and be a combination of growth disorder and obesity in children.

Diagnosis and Therapy

In addition to the characteristic appearance of Cushing's syndrome endocrine glands About functions are detected by the dexamethasone suppression test.

Furthermore, an imaging by MRI is possible in cases of suspected tumors, where the tumor is not always visible. Treatment consists of surgical removal of the tumor. Therapeutic application are finding increased synthetic glucocorticoids such as prednisolone and dexamethasone, by chemical modification have a higher stability, increased affinity for the glucocorticoid receptor and a decreased affinity for the corticosteroid.