Ectopic Cushing’s syndrome with periodic hormonogenesis--a case suggesting a pathogenetic mechanism
Open Access
- 1 October 1987
- journal article
- case report
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Postgraduate Medical Journal
- Vol. 63 (744) , 887-889
- https://doi.org/10.1136/pgmj.63.744.887
Abstract
We report on a case of ectopic Cushing's syndrome due to a thymic carcinoid tumour with periodic hormonogenesis. Periods of hormonal production averaged 27 days. Prior to bilateral adrenalectomy, mean (s.d) values of ACTH and cortisol were 202.1 (50.3) pg/ml and 46 (14.7) micrograms/dl, ACTH rising to 3996 +/- 425 pg/ml (P less than 0.01) and cortisol falling to 6.3 +/- 1.5 micrograms/dl (P less than 0.01) in the immediate postoperative period. During the late postoperative period (2-13 months following surgery) ACTH levels fell to 509.3 (123.8) pg/ml (P less than 0.01), but remaining even higher (P less than 0.01) than before adrenalectomy. The pattern of ACTH in the present case suggests the existence of a negative feedback exerted by the cortisol over tumoral ACTH.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- Cyclic Cushing's syndrome combined with cortisol suppressible, dexamethasone non-suppressible ACTH secretion: a new variant of Cushing's syndromeActa Endocrinologica, 1985
- A case of ectopic ACTH syndrome: diagnostic difficulties caused by intermittent hormone secretionActa Endocrinologica, 1982
- Selective Venous Sampling to Differentiate Ectopic ACTH Secretion from Pituitary Cushing's SyndromeNew England Journal of Medicine, 1977
- Periodic Remission in Cushing's Disease with Paradoxical Dexamethasone Response: An Expression of Periodic HormonogenesisJournal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1976
- Cushing Syndrome With Cyclical Edema and Periodic Secretion of CorticosteroidsArchives of internal medicine (1960), 1976
- Cushing's Syndrome with Fluctuation due to Adrenal AdenomaJournal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1975
- Cushing's Disease with Periodic Hormonogenesis: One Explanation for Paradoxical Response to DexamethasoneJournal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1973
- Studies in a case of Cushing's syndrome due to an ACTH-producing thymic tumourThe American Journal of Medicine, 1972
- Periodic Hormonogenesis—A New Phenomenon. Periodicity in Function of a Hormone-Producing Tumor in Man1Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1971
- Cushing's syndrome with a paradoxical response to dexamethasoneThe American Journal of Medicine, 1969