Estrogen receptor α plays an important role in Cushing’s syndrome during pregnancy

Posted on July 16, 2020 by MaryO

Abstract

Cushing’s syndrome (CS) during pregnancy is very rare with a few cases reported in the literature.

Of great interest, some cases of CS during pregnancy spontaneously resolve after delivery. Most studies suggest that aberrant luteinizing hormone (LH)/human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) receptor (LHCGR) seems to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of CS during pregnancy.

However, not all women during pregnancy are observed cortisol hypersecretion. Moreover, some cases of adrenal tumors or macronodular hyperplasia with LHCGR expressed, have no response to hCG or LH.

Therefore, alternative pathogenic mechanisms are indicated. It has been recently reported that estrogen binding to estrogen receptor α (ERα) could enhance the adrenocortical adenocarcinoma (ACC) cell proliferation.

Herein, we hypothesize that ERα is probably involved in CS development during pregnancy.

Better understanding of the possible mechanism of ERα on cortisol production and adrenocortical tumorigenesis will contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of CS during pregnancy.

Read the entire article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987720303893?via%3Dihub

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Adrenal incidentalomas—do they need follow up?

Posted on July 5, 2019 by MaryO

Are adrenal incidentalomas, which are found by chance on imaging, really harmless? In this paper, the authors looked at 32 studies, including 4121 patients with benign non-functioning adrenal tumours (NFATs) or adenomas that cause mild autonomous cortisol excess (MACE).

Only 2.5% of the tumours grew to a clinically significant extent over a mean follow-up period of 50 months, and no one developed adrenal cancer. Of those patients with NFAT or MACE, 99.9% didn’t develop clinically significant hormone (cortisol) excess. This was a group (especially those with MACE) with a high prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. This could be because adrenal adenomas promote cardiometabolic problems, or vice versa, or maybe this group with multimorbidities is more likely be investigated.

Adrenal incidentalomas are already found in around 1 in 20 abdominal CT scans, and this rate is likely to increase as imaging improves. So it’s good news that this study supports existing recommendations, which say that follow-up imaging in the 90% of incidentalomas that are smaller than 4 cm diameter is unnecessary.

From https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2019/07/03/ann-robinsons-journal-review-3-july-2019/

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High Cortisol Levels, as Seen in Cushing’s, Can Lead to Greater Risk of Heart Disease, Study Finds

Posted on December 1, 2017 by MaryO

People with high cortisol levels have lower muscle mass and higher visceral fat deposits, putting them at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease, new research shows.

High levels of cortisol can result from a variety of reasons, including Cushing’s disease and adrenal tumors. Most adrenal tumors are found to be non-functioning, meaning they do not produce excess hormones. However, up to 47 percent of patients have mild autonomous cortisol excess (MACE).

The study, “Impact of hypercortisolism on skeletal muscle mass and adipose tissue mass in patients with adrenal adenomas,” was published in the journal Clinical Endocrinology.

Long-term studies have shown that as a group, patients with MACE tend to have increased cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2), obesity, and high lipid levels, which are associated with higher cardiovascular death rates.

Abdominal adiposity, which refers to fat deposits around the abdomen and stomach, and central sarcopenia, referring to loss of skeletal muscle mass, are both known to be linked to higher cardiovascular risk and increased mortality.

Overt hypercortisolism is known to lead to increased visceral adiposity (body fat stored within the abdominal cavity) and muscle loss. However, little is known about the body composition of patients with adrenal adenomas and MACE.

Therefore, researchers set out to determine whether central sarcopenia and adiposity are present in patients with MACE, and whether they can be markers of disease severity in patients with adrenal adenomas. To determine this, researchers used body composition measurements of 25 patients with Cushing’s disease, 48 patients with MACE, and 32 patients with non-functioning adrenal tumors (NFAT) using abdominal CTs.

Specifically, researchers looked at visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, and total abdominal muscle mass. Visceral fat refers to fat around organs, and it is “deeper” than subcutaneous fat, which is closer to the skin.

Results showed that, compared to patients with non-functional tumors, those with Cushing’s disease had a higher visceral to total (V/T) fat ratio but a lower visceral to subcutaneous (V/S) fat ratio. In MACE patients, however, both ratios were decreased compared to patients with non-functional tumors.

Cushing’s disease patients also had 10 cm2  less total muscle mass, compared to patients with non-functional tumors.

An overnight dexamethasone suppression test was conducted in these patients to determine levels of cortisol in the blood. The next morning, cortisol levels were checked. High levels of cortisol indicate the presence of a disease, such as MACE or Cushing’s disease.

After administering the test, researchers determined that for an increase in cortisol in the morning, there was a correlating increase in the V/T ratio and the V/S fat ratio, and a decrease in the mean total muscle mass.

Therefore, the higher the degree of hypercortisolism, the lower the muscle mass and the higher the visceral adiposity.

These results could prove to be clinically useful as both visceral adiposity and low muscle mass are risk factors of a number of diseases, including cardiovascular disease.

“Body composition measurement may provide an additive value in making a diagnosis of clinically important MACE and aid in individualizing management of patients with ACAs and MACE,” the researchers concluded.

From https://cushingsdiseasenews.com/2017/11/30/cushings-disease-high-cortisol-levels-leads-to-greater-risk-heart-disease/

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Improvement of cardiovascular risk factors after adrenalectomy in patients with adrenal tumors and Subclinical Cushing Syndrome

Posted on August 16, 2016 by MaryO

Eur J Endocrinol. 2016 Jul 22. pii: EJE-16-0465. [Epub ahead of print]

Bancos I1, Alahdab F2, Crowley RK3, Chortis V4, Delivanis D5, Erickson D6, Natt N7, Terzolo M8, Arlt W9, Young W10, Murad MH11.

Author information

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Beneficial effects of adrenalectomy on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with Subclinical Cushing Syndrome (SCS) are uncertain. We sought to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis with the following objectives: 1) determine the effect of adrenalectomy compared to conservative management on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with SCS and 2) compare the effect of adrenalectomy on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with SCS versus those with a non-functioning (NF) adrenal tumor.

METHODS:

Medline In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trial were searched on November 17th, 2015. Reviewers extracted data and assessed methodological quality in duplicate.

RESULTS:

We included 26 studies reporting on 584 patients with SCS and 457 patients with NF adrenal tumors. Studies used different definitions of SCS. Patients with SCS undergoing adrenalectomy demonstrated an overall improvement in cardiovascular risk factors (61% for hypertension, 52% for diabetes mellitus, 45% for obesity and 24% for dyslipidemia). When compared to conservative management, patients with SCS undergoing adrenalectomy experienced improvement in hypertension (RR 11, 95% CI 4.3 – 27.8) and diabetes mellitus (RR 3.9, 95%CI 1.5- 9.9), but not dyslipidemia (RR 2.6, 95%CI 0.97 -7.2) or obesity (RR 3.4 (95%CI 0.95-12)). Patients with NF adrenal tumors experienced improvement in hypertension (21/54 patients), however, insufficient data exist for comparison to patients with SCS.

CONCLUSIONS:

Available low to moderate quality evidence from heterogeneous studies suggests a beneficial effect of adrenalectomy on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with SCS overall and as compared to conservative management.

PMID:
27450696
DOI:
10.1530/EJE-16-0465
[PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

From http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27450696

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If One Partner Has Cushing’s Syndrome, Can The Couple Still Get Pregnant?

Posted on May 12, 2015 by MaryO

Cushing’s syndrome can affect fertility in both men and women.

Women

The high levels of cortisol in Cushing’s syndrome disrupt a woman’s ovaries. Her menstrual periods may stop completely or become irregular. As a result, women with Cushing’s syndrome almost always have difficulty becoming pregnant.5,6,7 For those who do become pregnant, the risk of miscarriage is high.5,6,7

In rare cases, usually when a woman’s Cushing’s syndrome is caused by a benign adrenal tumor, pregnancy can occur, but it brings high risk for the mother and fetus.5,6,7

After a woman is treated for Cushing’s syndrome, her ovaries often recover from the effects of too much cortisol. Her regular menstrual cycles will return, and she can become pregnant.8

In some women, regular periods do not return after they are treated for Cushing’s syndrome. This occurs if surgery removes the part of the pituitary gland involved in reproduction.4 An infertility specialist can prescribe hormone therapy to bring back regular periods, ovulation, and fertility.8

Men

A man diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome may have a decline in sperm production and could have reduced fertility.9 He also might experience a lowered sex drive as well as impotence (pronounced IM-puh-tuhns). In addition, some medications used to treat Cushing’s syndrome can reduce fertility.10 However, fertility usually recovers after Cushing’s syndrome is cured and treatment has stopped.9

Does Cushing’s syndrome affect pregnancy?

Cushing’s syndrome can cause serious and potentially life-threatening effects for the mother and the fetus during pregnancy.11,12 For example, Cushing’s syndrome raises a woman’s risk of developing pregnancy-related high blood pressure (called preeclampsia, pronounced pree-i-KLAMP-see-uh, or eclampsia) and/or pregnancy diabetes, which also is called gestational (pronounced je-STEY-shuhn-ul) diabetes). Infection and slow healing of any wounds are more likely, as is heart failure. When the syndrome is caused by a tumor, it will be surgically removed as early as possible to reduce any threat.13

  1. Margulies, P. (n.d.). Adrenal diseases—Cushing’s syndrome: The facts you need to know. Retrieved May 21, 2012, from National Adrenal Diseases Foundation website http://www.nadf.us/adrenal-diseases/cushings-syndrome/ External Web Site Policy
  2. Nieman, L. K., & Ilias, I. (2005). Evaluation and treatment of Cushing’s syndrome. Journal of American Medicine, 118(12), 1340-1346. PMID 16378774.
  3. American Cancer Society. (n.d.). Fact sheet on pituitary tumors. Retrieved May 19, 2012, fromhttp://documents.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003133-pdf.pdf (PDF – 171 KB). External Web Site Policy
  4. Biddie, S. C., Conway-Campbell, B. L, & Lightman, S. L. (2012). Dynamic regulation of glucocorticoid signalling in health and disease. Rheumatology, 51(3), 4034-4112. Retrieved May 19, 2012, from PMID: 3281495.
  5. Abraham, M. R., & Smith, C. V. (n.d.). Adrenal disease and pregnancy.Retrieved April 8, 2012, fromhttp://emedicine.medscape.com/article/127772-overview – aw2aab6b6. External Web Site Policy
  6. Pickard, J., Jochen, A. L., Sadur, C. N., & Hofeldt, F. D. (1990). Cushing’s syndrome in pregnancy. Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey, 45(2), 87-93.PMID 2405312.
  7. Lindsay, J. R., Jonklaas, J., Oldfield, E. H., & Nieman, L. K. (2005). Cushing’s syndrome during pregnancy: Personal experience and review of the literature. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 90(5), 3077.PMID 15705919.
  8. Klibansky, A. (n.d.). Pregnancy after cure of Cushing’s disease. Retrieved April 27, 2012, fromhttp://03342db.netsolhost.com/page/pregnancy_after_cure_of_cushings_disease.php. External Web Site Policy
  9. Jequier, A.M. Endocrine infertility. In Male infertility: A clinical guide (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press, 2011: chap 20, pages 187-188. Retrieved May 19, 2012, from http://books.google.com/books?id=DQL0YC79uCMC&pg=PA188&lpg=PA188&dq=male+infertility+causes+and+treatment+Cushing&source=bl&ots=k1Ah5tVJC7&sig=WJR4N0wUawlh0Rant31QMPq6ufs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hGe5T-LrHYSX6AHgrvmzCw&ved=0CGoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=male%20infertility%20causes%20and%20treatment%20Cushing&f=false. External Web Site Policy
  10. Stewart, P. M., & Krone, N. P. (2011). The adrenal cortex. In Kronenberg, H. M., Shlomo, M., Polonsky, K. S., Larsen P. R. (Eds.). Williams textbook of endocrinology (12th ed.). (chap. 15). Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier.
  11. Abraham, M. R., & Smith, C. V. Adrenal disease and pregnancy. Retrieved April 8, 2012, from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/127772-overview – aw2aab6b6. External Web Site Policy
  12. Buescher, M. A. (1996). Cushing’s syndrome in pregnancy. Endocrinologist, 6, 357-361.
  13. Ezzat, S., Asa, S. L., Couldwell, W. T., Barr, C. E., Dodge, W. E., Vance M. L., et al. (2004). The prevalence of pituitary adenomas: A systematic review.Cancer, 101(3), 613-619. PMID 15274075.

From https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/cushing/conditioninfo/pages/faqs.aspx

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