Cushing’s
Cushing’s syndrome is a disorder that occurs when your body makes too much of the hormone cortisol over a long period of time. Cortisol is sometimes called the “stress hormone” because it helps your body respond to stress.
Evaluation of the use of the Late Night Salivary Cortisol (LNSC) test
From Lewis S Blevins, Jr. MD – Researchers at Harvard Medical School have reported their results on the evaluation of the use of the Late Night Salivary Cortisol (LNSC) in the evaluation of patients who
How important is early diagnosis?
A recent article from the Endocrinology Department of “Escola Universitària d’Infermeria, Hospital Sant Pau, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain” explores health related quality of life (QoL) issues in patients with pituitary disease. The article
Auto-immune and inflammatory disorders in Cushing’s syndrome
From Lewis S Blevins Jr, MD – I’ve seen a few instances over my career of auto-immune and inflammatory disorders flaring or becoming more apparent after someone has entered remission for Cushing’s syndrome. In each
How do somatostatin analogs work?
From Lewis S. Blevins, Jr. MD – Somatostatin analogs are a class of drugs that are chemically modified forms of native somatostatin. They are meant to act like somatostatin. Somatostatin is produced in our bodies,
Postoperative Evaluation of Patients with Cushing’s Disease.
From Lewis S. Blevins Jr, MD – One of the greatest challenges facing medical practitioners is in the recognition and diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome and disease. As if this not sufficiently difficult, an even greater
Management of Cushing’s Disease: Transsphenoidal Surgery.
From Lewis S. Blevins Jr, MD – Transphenoidal pituitary surgery is the treatment of choice In the setting of Cushing’s disease due to a well-defined pituitary adenoma. Occasionally, patients with a suspected pituitary adenoma, but
Cushing’s Syndrome: Twenty-Four Hour Urine Collection
From Lewis S Blevins Jr., MD – Twenty-four hour urine collections are often employed to estimate the production rates of various hormones. The accuracy of test results depends entirely on the proper collection of the
Pituitary Surgery. Postoperative Followup.
From Lewis S Blevins, Jr. MD – All too often, I see patients who come to the clinic with devastating recurrences of their pituitary tumors. For example, the accompanying MRI depicts a recurrent pituitary tumor in
Tests of Pituitary Function: Cushing’s syndrome
From Lewis Blevins, MD – Photo of Dr. Lewis Blevins – Cortisol is a stress hormone. Thus, physical or psychic stress can elevate cortisol levels in normal persons. Depression and alcoholism can elevate cortisol