1/14. Macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia in a postmenopausal woman.This case report describes the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome due to macronodular adrenal hyperplasia in an elderly woman who presented with fatigue, muscle weakness and oedema, and recent excessive bruising. Long-standing disease and comorbidity precluded adrenalectomy. Despite treatment with metyrapone and diuretics, the patient died after two months hospitalisation. Postmortal examination revealed overexpression of luteinising hormone (LH) receptors in the adrenal glands, suggesting that the postmenopausal rise in LH may have a role in adrenal hyperplasia and hypercortisolism.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = adrenal, adrenal gland, gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/14. Clinical manifestations and hormonal profile of two women with Cushing's disease and mild deficiency of 21-hydroxylase.The development of Cushing's disease among patients with deficiency of 21-hydroxylase has not been observed to date. The clinical manifestations and the hormonal profile of this exceptional association are herein described through the study of two cases. The first one was a 39-yr-old woman who had undergone non-curative transsphenoidal surgery for a pituitary-dependent Cushing's syndrome 12 yr before. She showed hypertension, central obesity, severe hirsutism, alopecia and hyperpigmentation. Urinary excretion of cortisol was normal, but ACTH levels were very high and hormonal dynamic studies (cortisol circadian rhythm, insulin-induced hypoglycemia and dexamethasone suppression tests) revealed the qualitative disturbances that characterize Cushing's disease. serum concentrations of androstenedione, free testosterone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone were clearly increased. Reexamination of the tissue samples from previous surgery confirmed the presence of an ACTH-producing pituitary adenoma. CYP21 gene analysis found the splicing 655G mutation at intron 2 and the V281L mutation at exon 7. The second case was a 21-yr-old woman who was diagnosed with pituitary ACTH-dependent Cushing's syndrome according to unequivocal clinical and laboratory findings. However, hirsutism was particularly severe and both serum androgens and 17-hydroxyprogesterone were elevated. The patient was heterozygote for a large conversion of CYP21 gene. In these cases, the clinical and biochemical expression of Cushing's syndrome was determined by the different severity of 21-hydroxylase deficiency and the subsequent residual ability of adrenal cortex to synthesize cortisol.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.23531352464168keywords = adrenal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/14. pseudotumor cerebri in patients with Cushing's disease.OBJECTIVE: To discuss the manifestation of pseudotumor cerebri during the course of correcting the hypercortisolism of Cushing's disease. methods: We describe the clinical, biochemical, and neuro-ophthalmologic findings in a patient in whom pseudotumor cerebri developed during correction of the hypercortisolism of Cushing's disease. In addition, we review the relationship between pseudotumor cerebri and Cushing's disease in the literature. RESULTS: A 44-year-old woman with Cushing's disease underwent total adrenalectomy after two unsuccessful transsphenoidal operations. She developed daily headaches 2 weeks postoperatively while taking 60 mg of hydrocortisone daily. She noticed a visual floater 8 weeks postoperatively, and a prompt ophthalmologic evaluation revealed papilledema. We diagnosed pseudotumor cerebri on the basis of symptoms and signs of intracranial hypertension, unremarkable findings on neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and a substantially increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure. After 8 weeks of treatment with furosemide, the headaches and papilledema resolved, and the patient was able to reduce her dose of hydrocortisone to 30 mg daily. pseudotumor cerebri has been associated with adrenocortical insufficiency and gluco- corticoid withdrawal and can lead to loss of vision. A literature review revealed 6 previous patients in whom pseudotumor cerebri developed in association with Cushing's disease. In all but one case, the pseudotumor cerebri manifested 2 to 4 weeks after treatment of hypercortisolism or cessation of hydrocortisone replacement. CONCLUSION: Symptoms of intracranial hypertension such as headache occurring in a patient recently withdrawn from exogenous or endogenous corticosteroids should prompt consideration of the presence of pseudotumor cerebri.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.24029907215312keywords = adrenal, insufficiency (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/14. Corticotroph adenoma of the pituitary in a patient with X-linked adrenal hypoplasia congenita due to a novel mutation of the DAX-1 gene.OBJECTIVE: Mutations in the DAX-1 gene result in X-linked congenital adrenal hypoplasia. The classic clinical presentation is primary adrenal insufficiency in early life and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism at the time of expected puberty, but recent data have expanded the phenotypic spectrum of DAX-1 mutations. We report the occurrence of an ACTH-secreting adenoma in a patient with X-linked congenital adrenal hypoplasia. DESIGN AND methods: Detailed clinical, radiological and pathological investigation of the pituitary adenoma. Genomic analysis of the DAX-1 gene in the patient and his mother. RESULTS: In this patient, primary adrenal failure had been diagnosed at 3 years of age and, despite replacement therapy, at 30 years of age progressive pigmentation developed and impairment of the visual field followed. ACTH was 24 980 pg/ml and nuclear magnetic resonance disclosed a huge pituitary adenoma. Three transsphenoidal operations and radiotherapy were necessary to remove the tumor mass and control ACTH secretion. Histologically, the adenoma was composed of chromophobic and basophilic neoplastic cells with positive immunostaining for ACTH. Moreover, a novel mutation was found both in the patient and his mother: a 4 bp insertion (AGCG) at nucleotide 259, in exon 1 resulting in a frame shift and premature termination. CONCLUSIONS: This case suggests that in adrenal hypoplasia congenita the development of a pituitary adenoma should be considered when a sudden rise of ACTH occurs despite adequate steroid substitution.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.543432295614keywords = adrenal insufficiency, adrenal, insufficiency (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/14. The Nelson's syndrome... revisited.adrenalectomy is a radical therapeutic approach to control hypercortisolism in some patients with Cushing's disease. However it may be complicated by the Nelson's syndrome, defined by the association of a pituitary macroadenoma and high ACTH secretion after adrenalectomy. This definition has not changed since the end of the fifties. Today the Nelson's syndrome must be revisited with new to criteria using more sensitive diagnostic tools, especially the pituitary magnetic resonance imaging. In this paper we will review the pathophysiological aspects of corticotroph tumor growth, with reference to the impact of adrenalectomy. The main epidemiological data on the Nelson's syndrome will be presented. More importantly, we will propose a new pathophysiological and practical approach to this question which attempts to evaluate the Corticotroph Tumor Progression after adrenalectomy, rather than to diagnose the Nelson's syndrome. We will discuss the consequences for the management of Cushing's disease patients after adrenalectomy, and will also draw some perspectives.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.94125409856674keywords = adrenal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/14. Repeated remissions of Cushing's disease due to recurrent infarctions of an ACTH-producing pituitary macroadenoma.infarction of prolactin-secreting or growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas is not unusual. However, infarction of ACTH-secreting adenomas has rarely been reported. Cyclical course of Cushing's syndrome alternating with adrenal insufficiency due to recurrent infarction of an acth-secreting pituitary adenoma has not been reported. We report here a 20-year-old lady who presented with florid signs of Cushing's syndrome but was found to have adrenal insufficiency on biochemical evaluation. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pituitary gland showed that she had infarction of an ACTH-secreting macroadenoma. Over the next 6 years, her disease ran a cyclical course characterized by periods of hypercortisolism alternating with adrenal insufficiency due to repeated episodes of infarctions of the ACTH-secreting pituitary macroadenoma with corresponding changes in the pituitary adenoma on serial MRIs. The case alerts clinicians to this possibility when a patient presents with clinical picture of Cushing's syndrome but has adrenal insufficiency on biochemical testing. It also suggests that silent or subclinical infarction of pituitary adenomas is not uncommon and is probably under diagnosed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.6463500095638keywords = adrenal insufficiency, adrenal, insufficiency, gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/14. Cushing's first case of transsphenoidal surgery: the launch of the pituitary surgery era.Transsphenoidal approaches to pituitary tumors have undergone a rigorous test of time since the introduction of the first technique by Schloffer in 1907. Harvey W. Cushing played an instrumental role in launching the era of pituitary surgery by popularizing the transsphenoidal route between 1909 and 1929. Cushing performed his first transsphenoidal operation in 1909 in a patient with acromegaly by using a modified form of the Schloffer method to reach the pituitary gland. He did not find this approach satisfactory and instead favored a modified form of the sublabial-transsphenoidal route described by A. E. Halstead and Theodor Kocher. At that time, the development of intracranial surgical corridors to the sellar region was in its infancy. Later in his career, in 1927, Cushing's mastery of intracranial surgery ultimately led him to favor the subfrontal or "transfrontal" route to treat pituitary tumors. In this article, the authors review the clinical details of Cushing's first case of transsphenoidal pituitary surgery.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.002653615641647keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/14. Cyclic Cushing's disease with paradoxical response to dexamethasone.Cyclic Cushing's disease is an unusual disorder characterised by ACTH-dependent periodical increase of serum cortisol levels, clinically accompanied by peripheral edema, abnormalities of cardiac rhythm and hypokalemia. The condition may be unrecognised for years, since the typical features of Cushing's disease are usually absent due to the intermittent and brief duration of cortisol hypersecretion. We describe the case of a 42-yr-old man with Cyclic Cushing's disease due to an ACTH-producing pituitary macroadenoma, who presented two episodes of hypercortisolism in a 3-yr-period, clinically characterised by peripheral edema, hypokalemia and arrhythmia. The diagnosis was suspected because of a paradoxical increase of plasma ACTH and cortisol after dexamethasone administration during an asymptomatic period and was confirmed by pituitary imaging and by final histology after transphenoidal resection of the pituitary adenoma. After surgery, the patient resumed a normal pituitary-adrenal function with restoration of the normal ACTH and cortisol suppression after dexamethasone. Cyclic Cushing's disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of several conditions characterised by recurrent episodes of idiopathic edema, hypokalemia or unexplained cardiac arrhythmia. In such patients, the pituitary-adrenal axis should be tested possibly during the acute phase of their disease or using the dexamethasone suppression test during asymptomatic intervals.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.47062704928337keywords = adrenal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/14. Pituitary corticotroph hyperplasia preceding adenoma in a patient with Nelson's syndrome.We report the case of a 42-year-old woman with Cushing's disease and Nelson's syndrome. When she was 17 years old, transsphenoidal surgery was performed. A detailed morphologic study demonstrated nodular hyperplasia of corticotroph cells but no adenoma. Following a long-lasting remission (14 years), Cushing's disease recurred. After an unsuccessful second transsphenoidal surgery, Cushing's disease persisted and both adrenals were removed (at the age of 34). Subsequently the patient developed Nelson's syndrome. The pituitary tumor proved to be a corticotroph adenoma; it was removed by the transsphenoidal approach (at the age of 42). Although in most patients Cushing's disease is due to an ACTH-secreting pituitary corticotroph adenoma which precedes the manifestation of Nelson's syndrome, our case indicates not only that corticotroph hyperplasia may cause Cushing's disease but that it may exist before the development of Nelson's syndrome after the removal of both adrenals. Our study supports the view that protracted stimulation of corticotrophs resulting from the elimination of the negative inhibitory feedback effect by corticosteroids plays a role in adenoma initiation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.47062704928337keywords = adrenal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/14. Adrenal tuberculosis in Cushing's disease with bilateral macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia.Cushing's disease is a disorder of hypercortisolism caused by a pituitary micro- or macro-adenoma. Most patients with Cushing's disease have a bilateral adrenal enlargement, which depends on the duration of the disease, as a result of the long standing ACTH stimulation of both adrenal glands. However, in macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia (MNH) that is caused by Cushing's disease, if the MNH gains autonomy, a bilateral adrenalectomy, as well as the removal of pituitary adenoma, is often essential. We encountered a patient diagnosed with Cushing's disease with bilateral adrenal tuberculosis simulating MNH. She had taken anti-tuberculosis medications one year prior to admission due to spinal tuberculosis. Sellar MRI revealed a pituitary macroadenoma, but adrenal CT showed enlargement in both adrenal glands that appeared to be MNH. A hormonal study and bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling revealed Cushing's disease. Therefore, she underwent trans-sphenoidal surgery of the pituitary mass. The pituitary surgery was successful and the serum cortisol returned to normal range. However, the adrenal mass rapidly enlarged after removing the pituitary tumor without showing evidence of a recurrence or adrenal autonomy of hypercortisolism. Accordingly, a laparoscopic left adrenalectomy was performed to examine the nature of the mass. The resected left adrenal gland was pathologically determined to have a lesion of tuberculosis with some part of the intact cortex. So we assumed that the cause of rapid adrenal enlargement might be due to adrenal tuberculosis. In summary, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of Cushing's disease coexisting with both adrenal tuberculosis simulating a bilateral MNH.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.2353135246417keywords = adrenal, adrenal gland, gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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