Cushing's syndrome occurs when your body has too much cortisol. This hormonal imbalance can lead to changes to your body and overall health.
What is Cushing's Syndrome?
Cushing’s syndrome happens when the body is exposed to high levels of the cortisol hormone over a long time. The most common cause of Cushing’s syndrome is a pituitary tumor (called an adenoma) that causes hormone fluctuations in your body. People with certain health conditions, such as obesity and high blood pressure, have a higher chance of developing this condition.
The hormonal disorder Cushing’s syndrome can cause uncomfortable and debilitating symptoms that may significantly affect your quality of life. AHN Neuroscience experts can help.
AHN Pituitary Center
The AHN Pituitary Center offers advanced treatment and compassionate care from our expert neuroscience team. By focusing on individual patient needs and the Cushing Syndrome symptoms present, we tailor each care plan to meet you where you are and create goals that help you achieve improved outcomes.
At the AHN Pituitary Center, we have integrated specialist collaboration meaning your care team is made up of doctors and health care providers who have different disciplines and who all work together to provide your personalized treatment. Our dedicated focus on pituitary conditions and advanced, targeted treatment allows us to improve patient outcomes.
Why choose AHN for your Cushing’s Syndrome
Our team includes physicians from different specialties who have extensive experience treating people with Cushing’s syndrome. We offer comprehensive evaluations and research-backed treatments to help you optimize your hormone levels and manage a condition long term.
Cushing’s Syndrome symptoms and signs
Someone with Cushing’s syndrome may experience one or more of these symptoms:
- Excessive weight gain in the midsection, face, and upper back
- Unwanted hair growth on face, neck, and thighs
- Feeling of extreme tiredness
- Skin that bruises easily
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Changes in menstrual cycle
- Stretch marks
- Depression
Causes and risk factors
Cushing's syndrome is a complex endocrine disorder that arises from prolonged exposure to excessive levels of cortisol, a hormone naturally produced by the adrenal glands. Understanding the Cushing's syndrome causes is key to effective management. There are two main reasons why someone might develop Cushing's syndrome:
- Medicine-caused (Exogenous Cushing's Syndrome): This is the most common reason for developing the condition. Certain medicines called corticosteroids (like prednisone, often used for conditions such as asthma or arthritis) are very helpful for reducing inflammation and suppressing the immune system. However, if you take them in high doses for a long time, they act just like your body's natural cortisol and flood your system with too much. This leads to Cushing's syndrome symptoms that can impact various body systems.
- Body-caused (Endogenous Cushing's Syndrome): This happens when your own body makes too much cortisol internally. Usually, this is due to a small, harmless growth (an adenoma) on your pituitary gland (a master control gland in your brain). This growth produces too much of a hormone called ACTH, which then tells your adrenal glands (small glands located above your kidneys) to make way too much cortisol. Less commonly, Cushing's syndrome causes can include tumors directly on the adrenal glands that produce cortisol, or other tumors in the body that produce ACTH (ectopic ACTH production).
While anyone can develop Cushing’s syndrome, some things make it more likely:
- Taking corticosteroid medicines: This is the biggest risk for the medicine-caused type.
- Having certain types of growths/tumors: If you have a growth on the pituitary or adrenal gland or elsewhere.
- Being assigned female at birth: It's a bit more common in women, especially the body-caused type.
- Being between 20 and 50 years old: This is when the body-caused type most often appears.
Cushing’s Syndrome screening and diagnosis
At AHN, physicians with different specialties work together to evaluate and treat patients with Cushing’s syndrome. You may see a neurosurgeon as well as an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) and an endocrinologist (hormone doctor).
After performing a thorough physical examination to evaluate your symptoms, your physician may recommend a series of tests to help your care team best dertermine your treatment plan.
Ophthalmologic testing
If doctors suspect a pituitary tumor, they might recommend eye tests. These tests can check your vision and the nerves around your eyes, as larger tumors might press on them.
Bloodwork and lab tests
Doctors will often take blood (or sometimes urine or saliva) samples to check your body's hormone levels. This helps them see if you consistently have too much cortisol.
CT or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan
Advanced imaging of the brain can confirm the presence of a pituitary tumor and give physicians important details about its size and location.
These tests help your care team understand your specific situation and plan the best treatment.
Types and stages of Cushing’s Syndrome
Unlike some cancers or other progressive diseases, Cushing's syndrome doesn't have stages in the traditional sense (like Stage 1, Stage 2, etc., based on severity or spread). However, it does have types, which are very important because they tell us what is causing the excess cortisol, and this directly guides the treatment plan.
The main way Cushing's syndrome is categorized into types is by its cause:
- Exogenous Cushing's Syndrome: This is the most common type. It happens when you take corticosteroid medications (like prednisone) for a long time at high doses. These medications are used to treat many conditions (asthma, arthritis, lupus, after organ transplants) but can lead to too much cortisol in your body.
- Endogenous Cushing's Syndrome: This type happens when your own body produces too much cortisol. This is less common than the exogenous type. This type is further divided based on where the problem originates:
- Cushing's Disease (Pituitary-Dependent Cushing's): This is the most common form of endogenous Cushing's. It's caused by a small, non-cancerous growth (an adenoma) in your pituitary gland (a pea-sized gland at the base of your brain). This growth makes too much of a hormone called ACTH, which then tells your adrenal glands to produce excessive cortisol.
- Adrenal-Dependent Cushing's Syndrome: This occurs when there's a growth (tumor), usually non-cancerous (adenoma) but sometimes cancerous (carcinoma), directly on one of your adrenal glands (located on top of your kidneys). This growth produces too much cortisol on its own, regardless of signals from the pituitary gland.
- Ectopic ACTH Syndrome: This is the rarest form. It happens when a tumor outside of the pituitary gland and adrenal glands (often in the lung, pancreas, or thymus) starts producing ACTH. This extra ACTH then overstimulates your adrenal glands to make too much cortisol.
Unlike some illnesses, Cushing's syndrome isn't categorized into stages. Instead, it's all about how much cortisol is in your body. Your symptoms might be mild or more severe, and how long you've had high cortisol can affect complications, but your care team will focus on your unique situation rather than a specific stage.
Cushing’s Syndrome treatment
If you have Cushing’s syndrome, AHN’s physicians work together to develop a treatment plan that fits your needs. Our hospitals use the latest technologies and therapies for Cushing’s syndrome treatment.
Cushing’s syndrome treatment options may include:
- Medication: Medications work in different ways to block or lower hormone levels in the body.
- Radiation therapy: Stereotactic radiosurgery involves a nonsurgical outpatient procedure that delivers a single, focused, high dose of radiation to a tumor. Our sophisticated and precise dosing enables our surgeons to treat tumors of different shapes and sizes.
- Surgery: Our fellowship-trained surgeons have expertise in performing open skull base surgery and endoscopic endonasal neurosurgery. In endoscopic endonasal surgery, physicians use innovative techniques to remove tumors through the nose. It is highly effective, with many patients experiencing fewer side effects and a quicker recovery. Read more about the benefits of minimally invasive neurosurgery.
Cushing’s Syndrome FAQs
Understanding Cushing’s syndrome can help you identify symptoms earlier and get treatment sooner. AHN is here to help you answer your questions and support you in your care plan.
What are the effects of Cushing’s syndrome?
Cushing's Syndrome causes a range of physical and mental changes due to prolonged exposure to high levels of cortisol. Common Cushing syndrome symptoms include weight gain, especially in the face, neck, and torso, thin skin that bruises easily, purple stretch marks, muscle weakness, and fatigue. It can also lead to high blood pressure, high blood sugar, mood changes, and increased risk of infections.
Is Cushing’s syndrome curable?
Yes, Cushing syndrome treatment can often cure the condition, especially if the underlying Cushing’s syndrome causes are identified and addressed. Treatment typically involves surgery to remove tumors that are producing too much cortisol. In some cases, medication or radiation therapy may also be used.
What is the life expectancy of someone with Cushing’s syndrome?
With proper diagnosis and effective Cushing’s syndrome treatment, the life expectancy for individuals with Cushing's Syndrome can be similar to that of the general population. Untreated Cushing's Syndrome, however, can significantly reduce life expectancy due to serious complications like cardiovascular disease and infections.
Is Cushing’s syndrome serious?
Yes, Cushing syndrome is a serious condition. If left untreated, the prolonged high cortisol levels can lead to severe health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, heart disease, and increased susceptibility to infections. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent these complications and improve outcomes.