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Cushing syndrome
Make it clearer
Cortisol is a hormone the body makes every day. When tissues are exposed to too much cortisol, or to other glucocorticoids, it is called hypercortisolism. If that keeps up over time, a set of signs and symptoms with a name of its own appears: Cushing syndrome.
Behind it is a chain of three links: hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal, each one giving orders to the next. The hypothalamus, in the brain, releases CRH. CRH speaks to the anterior pituitary, a pea-sized gland beneath the brain, which makes ACTH. ACTH travels through the blood to the adrenal cortex, the outer layer of the glands that sit on top of each kidney, and that is where cortisol is made.
The most common cause is not a tumor but the treatment itself: glucocorticoids the person receives as medication. And it shows in the body. The face rounds out, fat builds up at the back of the neck forming a hump, blood pressure rises, and wide purple stretch marks appear.
In brief
Hypercortisolism is excessive tissue exposure to cortisol or glucocorticoids; when sustained, it produces the set of signs and symptoms called Cushing syndrome.
It is governed by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: hypothalamic CRH drives the anterior pituitary to make ACTH, and ACTH drives the adrenal cortex to make cortisol.
A chain of three links: hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal, each giving the order to the next.
The most common cause is iatrogenic, from administered glucocorticoids, and the exam shows a round face, a dorsocervical hump, hypertension, and wide purple striae.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingHypercortisolism (Cushing Syndrome), StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated