ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the distinction between Cushing's disease and the Cushing syndrome. It discusses the principles underlying the methods used to assess the integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the diagnosis of hypo- and hypersecretion of cortisol. The chapter presents an account of the approach to treatment of hypo-and hypercortisolism. Symptoms are usually of gradual onset. There are: Weight loss, Muscle weakness and fatigue, Hyperpigmentation, Depression, irritability, Salt craving if aldosterone secretion is impaired, Hypoglycaemia in children, and Dysmenorrhoea or amenorrhoea. Cushing's disease is an illness caused by overproduction of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) by the pituitary gland, usually because of an ACTH-secreting adenoma. Cushing's syndrome is the appearance of the symptoms of Cushing's disease caused by chronic use of glucocorticoids for other purposes, for example, treatment of autoimmune disease.
