Blood Lipid Levels Linked to High Blood Pressure in Cushing’s Disease Patients

Posted on April 25, 2026 by MaryO

High lipid levels in the blood may lead to elevated blood pressure in patients with Cushing’s disease, a Chinese study shows.

The study, “Evaluation of Lipid Profile and Its Relationship with Blood Pressure in Patients with Cushing’s Disease,” appeared in the journal Endocrine Connections.

Patients with Cushing’s disease often have chronic hypertension, or high blood pressure, a condition that puts them at risk for cardiovascular disease. While the mechanisms of Cushing’s-related high blood pressure are not fully understood, researchers believe that high levels of cortisol lead to chronic hypertension through increased cardiac output, vascular resistance, and reactivity to blood vessel constrictors.

In children and adults with Cushing’s syndrome, the relationship between increased cortisol levels and higher blood pressure has also been reported. Patients with Cushing’s syndrome may remain hypertensive even after surgery to lower their cortisol levels, suggesting their hypertension is caused by changes in blood vessels.

Studies have shown that Cushing’s patients have certain changes, such as increased wall thickness, in small arteries. The renin-angiotensin system, which can be activated by glucocorticoids like cortisol, is a possible factor contributing to vascular changes by increasing the uptake of LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) — the “bad” cholesterol — in vascular cells.

Prior research showed that lowering cholesterol levels could benefit patients with hypertension and normal lipid levels by decreasing the stiffness of large arteries. However, the link between blood lipids and hypertension in Cushing’s disease patients is largely unexplored.

The study included 84 patients (70 women) referred to a hospital in China for evaluation and diagnosis of Cushing’s disease. For each patient, researchers measured body mass index, blood pressure, lipid profile, and several other biomarkers of disease.

Patients with high LDL-cholesterol had higher body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoproteinB (apoB), a potential indicator of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

Data further revealed an association between blood pressure and lipid profile, including cholesterol, triglycerides, apoB and LDL-c. “The results strongly suggested that CHO (cholesterol), LDL-c and apoB might predict hypertension more precisely in [Cushing’s disease],” the scientists wrote.

They further add that high cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and apoB might be contributing to high blood pressure by increasing vessel stiffness.

Additional analysis showed that patients with higher levels of “bad” cholesterol — 3.37 mmol/L or higher — had higher blood pressure. This finding remained true, even when patients were receiving statins to lower their cholesterol levels.

No association was found between blood pressure and plasma cortisol, UFC, adrenocorticotropic hormone, or glucose levels in Cushing’s disease patients.

These findings raise some questions on whether lipid-lowering treatment for high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease would be beneficial for Cushing’s disease patients. Further studies addressing this question are warranted.

Adapted from https://cushingsdiseasenews.com/2018/04/24/blood-pressure-linked-lipid-levels-cushings-disease-study/

Filed under: adrenal, Clinical trials, Cushing's, pituitary, symptoms | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Cortisol Pumps May Be Viable Option to Reduce Adrenal Crisis in Severe Adrenal Insufficiency

Posted on April 25, 2026 by MaryO

The use of an insulin pump to deliver continuous pulsatile cortisol may be a viable treatment option in patients with severe adrenal insufficiency who are unresponsive to oral corticosteroids, according to study results presented at the 28th Annual Congress of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, held April 24 to 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, California.

According to the investigators, increasing oral steroid doses may be required to prevent adrenal crisis in patients with adrenal insufficiency. However, in light of the associated side effects of long-term use of steroids, an alternative treatment method is needed. Insulin pumps, typically used to treat patients with diabetes, can be used to deliver steroids and may provide symptom control, prevent adrenal crisis, and lower required corticosteroid dose.

The current study enrolled patients with adrenal insufficiency who could not absorb oral corticosteroid treatment or were not responding to treatment. Of 118 patients with adrenal insufficiency, 6 patients were switched to pump treatment.

The results indicated that the use of cortisol pumps was associated with a 78.5% risk reduction for adrenal crisis compared with oral corticosteroids. As hydrocortisone dose was gradually tapered using the cortisol pump, there was a mean dose reduction of 62.77 mg compared with oral corticosteroid therapy.

The researchers noted that in addition to reducing the number of adrenal crises, use of a cortisol pump was found to be associated with better symptom control and quality of life.

“Continuous pulsatile cortisol replacement via pump is an option for management of severe adrenal insufficiency in patients unresponsive to oral therapy,” concluded the researchers.

Reference

Khalil A, Ahmed F, Alzohaili O. Insulin pump for adrenal insufficiency, a novel approach to the use of insulin pumps to deliver corticosteroids in patients with poor cortisol absorption. Presented at: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 28th Annual Scientific & Clinical Congress; April 24-28, 2019; Los Angeles, CA.

From https://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/home/conference-highlights/aace-2019/cortisol-pumps-may-be-viable-option-to-reduce-adrenal-crisis-in-severe-adrenal-insufficiency/

Filed under: adrenal, adrenal crisis | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »