Most importantly, Cushing’s disease is a disease of clinical signs! It is important to look at BOTH the diagnostic test results as well as the patient (and the presence/absence of clinical signs), as this will influence the treatment plan. What are the clinical signs of Cushing’s disease? steroids), which are often prescribed to manage skin allergies, immune-mediated diseases and autoimmune disease. Since cortisol is a type of glucocorticoid (a class of steroid hormones), iatrogenic Cushing’s disease occurs secondary to excessive or prolonged use of glucocorticoid medications (e.g. This is a less common cause and occurs due to a tumour at the adrenal gland itself. This tumour causes the pituitary gland to overproduce a hormone (ACTH) that then over-stimulates the adrenal glands to overproduce cortisol.Īdrenal-dependent (arising for the adrenal glands). This is the most common cause with 85-90% of cases occurring due to a tumour of the pituitary gland (which is located at the base of the brain), which is usually microscopic and benign, however can be large or cancerous in a small number of cases. Pituitary-dependent (arising from the pituitary gland). There are 3 main causes of Cushing’s disease, which are named after where the inappropriate hormonal signs are coming from.
