CushieBlog

An experimental drug called pasireotide reduced levels of the “stress hormone” cortisol and improved symptoms in patients with Cushing’s disease, a new study found.

Cushing’s disease is a rare (three to five cases per million people) hormonal disorder that causes a wide range of health problems and, if untreated, significantly increases a patient’s risk of dying at a much younger age than normal, researchers said in a news release.

Weight gain, high blood pressure, mood swings, irregular or absent menstrual periods, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes are among the symptoms of Cushing’s disease. It is a form of Cushing’s syndrome, which is caused by prolonged exposure of the body’s tissues to high levels of the hormone cortisol.

This phase 3 study of 162 patients in 18 countries found that treatment with pasireotide reduced cortisol secretion by an average of 50 percent and returned some patient’s cortisol levels to normal.

A phase 3 study means that a drug is in the final stages of testing that drugs undergo before they can be approved for treatment of a specific disease.

The study, funded by Novartis Pharma, appears in the March 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Spyros Mezitis, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, is not associated with the study but is familiar with its findings.

Mezitis said the study showed that the experimental treatment “improved metabolic abnormalities and emotional difficulties. Therefore, pasireotide injections become an alternative to surgical resection of the pituitary ACTH-secreting tumor, and may be shown to work with the FDA-approved mifepristone, which blocks the action of cortisol at receptors in the body.”

Elevated blood sugar (glucose) levels occurred in 73 percent of the patients who took the drug, a side effect that requires close attention, according to senior study author Dr. Beverly Biller, of Massachusetts General Hospital.

Cushing’s patients already have difficulty processing glucose, she noted.

“Those patients who already were diabetic had the greatest increases in blood sugar, and those who were prediabetic were more likely to become diabetic than those who began with normal blood sugar,” Biller said in the hospital news release. “So this is real and needs to be monitored carefully.”

Mezitis agreed that careful patient monitoring is important. “Blood-sugar elevations are dose-dependent with pasireotide and will need to be managed as indicated for diabetes,” he said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about Cushing’s syndrome.

From http://www.drugs.com/news/experimental-shows-promise-against-cushing-s-36857….

An investigational somatostatin analogue has significantly reduced elevated cortisol levels in patients with Cushing’s disease, researchers report.

Of 103 patients, 61 had a ‘substantial reduction’ (≥50%) in urinary free cortisol level at month six, the randomised double blind phase 3 trial found.

The reduction in urinary free cortisol in response to pasireotide was also accompanied by reductions in serum cortisol and plasma coticotropin levels, as well as improvements in signs and symptoms of Cushing’s disease, the US researchers reported in this week’s NEJM.

Body weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol levels were significantly reduced, and scores for health related quality of life improved.

Side effects included transient gastrointestinal discomfort and hyperglycaemia related events.

From http://www.endocrinologyupdate.com.au/getmedia/c33e0997-d2d9-4783-be87-d95930240f3d/EU08_03_12.aspx?ext=.pdf&nodeid=2653342&utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Endocrinology+Newsletter+MREC+Non+SP+-+send+-%3E+8%2F03%2F2012+3%3A50%3A08+PM&utm_content&fb_source=message

Tosoh introduces the ST AIA-PACK DHEA-S Assay for use on Tosoh Automated Immunoassay Analyzers

South San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 06, 2012

Tosoh Bioscience, Inc. introduces the ST AIA-PACK DHEA-S assay for use on Tosoh automated immunoassay analyzers including the AIA-360, AIA-600 II, AIA-1800, AIA-2000 and the new AIA-900.

Utilizing Tosoh’s unit dose test cup reagent technology, ST AIA-PACK DHEA-S has an assay time of approximately 20 minutes. Single, unitized test cups require no pre-mixing, no pre-measuring and no on-board refrigeration. Dry reagent format ensures 90 day calibration stability for minimal waste and cost effective testing. Test cups are bar-coded for easy identification and inventory management.

ST AIA-PACK DHEA-S is designed for In Vitro Diagnostic Use Only for the quantitative measurement of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) in human serum, heparinized or EDTA plasma. DHEA-S is used for the diagnosis of various diseases of the adrenal cortex, and is especially useful for the differential diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome.

Concentrations of DHEA-S are often measured, along with other hormones such as FSH, LH, prolactin, estrogen, and testosterone, to help diagnose polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and to help rule out other causes of infertility, amenorrhea, and hirsutism. DHEA-S levels may be ordered to investigate and diagnose the cause of virilization in young girls and early (precocious) puberty in young boys.

ST AIA-PACK DHEA-S has been designed for a variety of clinical diagnostic applications including: Pediatric/Children’s Hospitals, Endocrinologist, GP, Reproductive and Metabolic Clinics.

Tosoh Bioscience, Inc. (TBI) provides highly sophisticated diagnostic systems for immunoassay and HPLC testing to doctor’s offices, hospitals and reference laboratories throughout the Americas. Based in South San Francisco, CA, TBI is a U.S. subsidiary of Tosoh Corporation which is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. TBI is part of Tosoh Corporation’s Bioscience Division.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebTosoh/DHEAS/prweb9248342.htm

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/03/06/prweb9248342.DTL#ixzz1oTaQcBBo