Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

Entries Tagged ‘Cushing’s syndrome’

Laboratory Tests in Psychiatry

Until recently, the laboratory had relatively little to offer in psychiatry. Laboratory tests were used mainly to diagnose or exclude organic illness. For example, in one study about 5% of patients with dementia had organic diseases such as hyponatremia, hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia, and hypercalcemia; about 4% were caused by alcohol; and about 10% were due to […]

Female Delayed Puberty and Primary Amenorrhea

Onset of normal puberty in girls is somewhat variable, with disagreement in the literature concerning at what age to diagnose precocious puberty and at what age to suspect delayed puberty. The most generally agreed-on range of onset for female puberty is between 9 and 16 years. Signs of puberty include breast development, growth of pubic […]

Adrenal and Nonadrenal Causes of Hypertension

Cushing’s syndrome, primary aldosteronism, unilateral renal disease (rarely, bilateral renal artery stenosis), and pheochromocytoma often produce hypertension. Hypertension due to these diseases is classified as secondary hypertension, in contrast to primary idiopathic (essential) hypertension. Although patients with these particular diseases that cause secondary hypertension are a relatively small minority of hypertension patients, the diseases are […]

Cushing’s Syndrome. Part 2

48-hour dexamethasone suppression test. The 48-hour DST is the most widely used confirmatory procedure. Dexamethasone (Decadron) is a synthetic steroid with cortisone-like actions but is approximately 30 times more potent than cortisone, so that amounts too small for laboratory measurement may be given to suppress pituitary ACTH production. The test is preceded by two consecutive […]

Cushing’s Syndrome. Part 1

Cushing’s syndrome is caused by excessive body levels of adrenal glucocorticoids such as cortisol, either from (primary) adrenal cortex overproduction or from (secondary) therapeutic administration. This discussion will consider only the primary type due to excess adrenal production of cortisol. About 70% of cases (range 50%-80%) of Cushing’s syndrome due to adrenal overproduction of cortisol […]

Effects of Adrenal Cortex Dysfunction

Certain adrenal cortex hormones control sodium retention and potassium excretion. Aldosterone is the most powerful of these hormones, but cortisone and hydrocortisone also have some effect. In primary Addison’s disease there are variable degrees of adrenal cortex destruction. This results in deficiency of both aldosterone and cortisol, thereby severely decreasing normal salt-retaining hormone influence on […]