Cushing's syndrome
Overview
Cushing's syndrome is a rare condition caused by having too much of a hormone called cortisol in your body. You're more likely to get it if you take high doses of steroid medicines for a long time.
Symptoms
Anyone can get Cushing’s syndrome, but it’s much more common in women than in men. The symptoms often come on gradually and include: having more body fat on your neck, upper back, chest and tummy – your arms and legs may look thin compared to the rest of your bodya red, round face – the redness may be harder to see on brown or black skinskin that bruises easily and stretch marks on your tummy, hips, breasts and under your armsmuscle weakness, particularly at the top of your arms and legslow sex drive (loss of libido)changes in mood, such as feeling irritable, anxious or depressedirregular periods or periods stopping completelyexcessive hair growth (hirsutism) Cushing's syndrome is rare in children. If a child does get it, the main symptoms areobesityand being short for their age.
Causes
The most common cause of Cushing’s syndrome is taking high doses of steroid medicine, such ashydrocortisoneorprednisolonefor a long time. Sometimes, a small, non-cancerous growth in the pituitary gland (near the brain) or adrenal glands (near the kidneys) can also cause too much cortisol to be released. These glands help control the amount of certain hormones in your body, including cortisol. If the problem is caused by the pituitary gland it’s called Cushing’s disease. If it's caused elsewhere in the body, it’s called Cushing's syndrome.
Treatment
Treatment for Cushing’s syndrome depends on what’s causing it and how severe your symptoms are. Treatments can include: gradually reducing how much steroid medicine you take (if steroid medicine is causing Cushing’s syndrome)medicine to control the amount of cortisol your adrenal glands produceradiotherapyto get rid of a non-cancerous growth in the pituitary glandsurgery to remove a growth in the pituitary gland or adrenal glandssurgery to remove your adrenal glands – after surgery you’ll need to take medicines to replace hormones made by your adrenal glands for the rest of your life After having treatment for Cushing’s syndrome, the amount of cortisol in your body will be checked. If it’s still high, you may need further treatment.