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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Cushing's syndrome occurs when your body is exposed to high levels of the hormone cortisol for a long time. The most common cause of Cushing's syndrome, sometimes called hypercortisolism, is the use of oral corticosteroid medication. The condition can also occur when your body makes too much cortisol.
Too much cortisol can produce some of the hallmark signs of Cushing's syndrome — a fatty hump between your shoulders, a rounded face, and pink or purple stretch marks on your skin. Cushing's syndrome can also result in high blood pressure, bone loss and, on occasion, diabetes.
Treatments for Cushing's syndrome can return your body's cortisol production to normal and noticeably improve your symptoms. The earlier treatment begins, the better your chances for recovery.
- Cushing's syndrome. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/cushings/cushings.htm. Accessed June 7, 2010.
- Cushing's syndrome information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cushings/cushings.htm?css=print. Accessed June 7, 2010.
- Niemann LK. Clinical manifestations of Cushing's syndrome. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 5, 2010.
- What is Cushing's syndrome? Cushing's Support and Research Foundation. http://csrf.net/page/the_basics.php. Accessed June 7, 2010.
- Niemann LK. Establishing the cause of Cushing's syndrome. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 5, 2010.
- Niemann LK. Establishing the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 5, 2010.
- Niemann LK. Causes and pathopsychology of Cushing's syndrome. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 5, 2010.
- Niemann LK. Overview of the treatment of Cushing's syndrome. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 5, 2010.
- Dietary supplement fact sheet: Vitamin D. National Institutes of Health. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp. Accessed June 11, 2010.
- Nippoldt TB (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 17, 2010.
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