Diagnosis of cure in Cushing's syndrome: lessons from long-term follow-up.

It is generally assumed that endocrine 'cure' of hypercortisolism after successful treatment for Cushing's syndrome (CS) is associated with reversal of increased morbidity and mortality, typical of the active disease. However, recent data do not support this idea; increased cardiovascular risk is still present 5 years after endocrine cure, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), although improved when compared to the active phase of hypercortisolism, is still impaired when compared to normal population. Abnormal body composition typical of hypercortisolism (i.

A link between bone mineral density and serum adiponectin and visfatin levels in acromegaly.

Context: Two adipokines highly expressed in fat mass, adiponectin with antiinflammatory and antiatherogenic properties and visfatin with an insulin-mimetic effect, are potential contributors to bone metabolism. In acromegaly, data on adiponectin are contradictory, and there are no data on visfatin.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate adiponectin and visfatin in acromegaly, compared to control subjects, and to analyze their relationship with body composition and bone markers.

Persistent body fat mass and inflammatory marker increases after long-term cure of Cushing's syndrome.

Objective: Although increased central fat mass is characteristic of active Cushing's syndrome (CS), little is known about body composition and secretion of adipokines after long-term recovery of CS. The aim of this study was to evaluate central fat mass and its correlation with adipokines and cardiovascular risk factors in patients after long-term remission of CS.

Methods: Thirty-seven women with CS in remission (27 of pituitary and 10 of adrenal origin; mean age, 50 +/- 14 yr; mean time of hormonal cure, 11 +/- 6 yr) were enrolled and compared to 14 women with active CS and 85 gender-, age-, and body mass index-matched healthy controls.

Deleterious effects of glucocorticoid replacement on bone in women after long-term remission of Cushing's syndrome.

Endogenous hypercortisolism and high-dose and long-term glucocorticoid (GC) therapy reduce bone mass. Patients in remission after successful treatment of Cushing's syndrome (CS) often present hypoadrenalism and require long-term GC replacement. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether this GC "replacement" had any further effect on bone in women after long-term remission of CS.

Gender dimorphism in body composition abnormalities in acromegaly: males are more affected than females.

Background: Acromegaly changes body composition (BC), but long-term gender differences have not been reported.

Objective: To evaluate BC in active and controlled acromegalic patients.

Design And Methods: Clinical and biochemical variables and BC (by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) were evaluated in 60 acromegalic patients (19 active, 41 controlled) and 105 controls, matched for age and gender.