View clinical trials related to Cushing Syndrome.
Filter by:Glucocorticoids are widely used for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. Although glucocorticoids are effective in controlling disease symptoms, continuous use of the drugs can lead to suppression of adrenal hormones or excessive cortisol level in the blood stream. That is, excess blood cortisol level due to glucocorticoid exogenous supply can either inhibit the 'hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis' for adrenal hormones production or result in Cushing symptoms. In the period between 1989 and 2008 in the UK, it was estimated that 0.6%-0.8% of the general adult population were long-term users of oral glucocorticoids. However, there is no data on the risk of adrenal suppression and Cushing syndrome due to chronic use of glucocorticoids in the UK to date. The aim of the study is to investigate the risk of adrenal insufficiency and Cushing syndrome due to long-term use of glucocorticoids in England.
This is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled withdrawal and rescue/restoration study in subjects with endogenous Cushing's Syndrome (CS) previously treated with single-arm, open-label levoketoconazole that will assess efficacy, safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of levoketoconazole.
Several studies have shown that lean mass, in particular muscle mass, is an excellent predictive survival factor in many diseases. A better knowledge of the mechanisms responsible for muscle atrophy and the identification of atrophic process markers are deeply needed for the development of new anti-atrophic therapies. Either as drugs used to treat several medical conditions or as endocrine hormones released in response to many stress situations (e.g., sepsis, cancer, insulinopenia…), glucocorticoids (GC) are recognized to play a major role in skeletal muscle atrophy. Indeed, the inhibition of GC action by a receptor antagonist (RU486) or by muscle-specific invalidation of the GC receptor inhibits the muscle atrophy in these stress situations. Therefore, all these data clearly indicate that GC play a major role in skeletal muscle atrophy observed in several conditions. Emerging evidence has revealed that the skeletal muscle has a secretory function. Human skeletal muscle secretome was first estimated at about 300 proteins by computational analysis and proteomic analysis have recently confirmed these results. Some of these secreted proteins, conceptualized as myokines, can act locally on muscle cells through autocrine/paracrine loops and on surrounding tissues such as muscle blood vessels or can be released into the blood stream to produce systemic effects. One prominent example is interleukin (IL)-6 which is released into circulation by contracting skeletal muscle and can regulate metabolic and inflammatory processes. As IL-6, several other potential myokines have been identified including IL-8, IL-15, insulin-growth factor I (IGF-I), follistatin-like 1 (FSTL1) or fibroblast-growth factor (FGF)-21. Moreover, secreted proteins may also reflected metabolic changes which take place in muscle cells. Indeed, myoblast differentiation is accompanied by dramatic changes in the secreted proteins profile as increased expression of Semaphorins, IGF-I, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 or Collagens. Thereby, the investigators hypothesized that skeletal muscle atrophy induced by GC is associated with specific alterations of the muscle secretome. The aim of this project is to identify the GC-induced changes in the secretome of human skeletal muscle cells in culture (in vitro approach) and to determine how these changes translate into the circulation of subjects exposed to high concentrations of GC (Cushing's syndrome) (in vivo approach). Characterization of these changes in human subjects should allow to better understand the cellular mechanisms involved in muscle atrophy and might lead to identify circulating biomarkers associated with skeletal muscle atrophy, as telopeptides are for bone tissue.
Currently, 2-3% of the population of the United Kingdom and United States of America receive glucocorticoid therapy. Significant adverse effects are not confined to chronic use; recurrent short-course administration is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The adverse metabolic features associated with glucocorticoid use include obesity, skeletal muscle myopathy, hypertension, insulin resistance and diabetes and are collectively termed 'iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome'. The efficacy of glucocorticoid therapy is not in doubt, but there are no interventions to reduce their metabolic consequences. Within metabolic tissues (liver, skeletal muscle, adipose), 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) regenerates active glucocorticoid and therefore is able to tightly control the availability of glucocorticoids to activate the glucocorticoid receptor. In preclinical studies, the investigators have shown that 11β-HSD1 is critical in regulating the development of the adverse features associated with circulating glucocorticoid excess, endorsing our observations in a patient with Cushing's disease, who was protected from a classical phenotype due to a functional deficit in 11β-HSD1. This study is the first clinical evaluation of the impact of the selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor, AZD4017, in healthy volunteers taking exogenous glucocorticoids (prednisolone). The investigators propose that in tissues expressing high levels of 11β-HSD1, prednisolone action will be amplified, driving adverse effects within these tissues and have hypothesized that AZD4017 in humans will reduce the adverse metabolic consequences of Prednisolone administration without compromise to its anti-inflammatory action. Our specific research objectives are: 1. To demonstrate the beneficial effect of the selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor, AZD4017, upon the prednisolone-induced deterioration in metabolic phenotype, including glucose disposal and endogenous glucose production rates. 2. To determine the impact of AZD4017 on the anti-inflammatory actions of Prednisolone. 3. To identify the tissue-specific (skeletal muscle, adipose) mechanisms underpinning the response to Prednisolone therapy administered in conjunction with AZD4017. The investigators will perform a randomized, double-blind placebo controlled study to determine if co-administration of the selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor, AZD4017, limits the adverse effects of short-course exogenous glucocorticoid administration. 32 healthy male volunteers will have detailed metabolic investigations including 2-step hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamps (with stable isotope measurements of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism), as well as assessment of skeletal muscle forearm glucose uptake. All volunteers will then be treated with Prednisolone (20mg daily) and randomized to the co-administration of placebo or AZD4017. After 1 week of therapy, all investigations will be repeated. Our hypothesis is that the adverse metabolic effects of Prednisolone will be reduced by co-administration of AZD4017.
The study will investigate 27 hour profiles of hormones in the subcutaneous tissue of healthy subjects and patients with Addison's, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Growth Hormone Deficiency, acromegaly, Cushings and Primary Hyperaldosteronism during conventional diagnostic and therapeutic follow-up. The 27 hour monitoring by ULTRADIAN takes into account the rhythm of hormones throughout the day. It is hoped that this information may in the future improve and simplify diagnostic procedures. Follow-up of patients in endocrinology still remains difficult including clinical signs of over and under-treatment, questionnaires of quality of life and blood testing necessitating often retesting. Simplification of the diagnostic procedure by obtaining detailed knowledge about the rhythm of hormones may contribute to the improvement and individualization of treatment and may decrease morbidity and mortality of endocrine patients.
This study will investigate the potential for FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5) (and other gene expression markers, for example pentraxin 3 [PTX-3], serum/glucocorticoid regulated kinase 1 [SGK1], and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta [GSK3b]) to be developed as a biomarker for use in diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome, assessment of effectiveness of medical or surgical treatment, and detection of relapse of endogenous Cushing's syndrome after surgery.
Working hypothesis: the interactions between the endogenous endocannabinoïds (ECS) - and cortisol, the end product of the Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis may play a role in the pathophysiology of Cushing's syndrome. The investigators speculate that: - acute or chronic variations in plasma cortisol may induce changes in the activity of the ECS - that there is a circadian rhythm of the ECS driven by the rythm of plasma cortisol
Cushing's syndrome is a relatively rare disorder caused by prolonged exposure to high levels of the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol. Cushing's syndrome may result from elevated endogenous or exogenous sources of cortisol. Endogenous Cushing's syndrome resulting from cortisol overproduction by the adrenal glands is the subject of this protocol. Patients with exogenous Cushing's syndrome, which develops as a side effect of chronic administration of high doses of glucocorticoids, were not eligible for enrollment in this study. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CORT125134 for treatment of endogenous Cushing's syndrome. The multicenter study was conducted in the United States and in Europe.
Chart review study to collect patient data from medical charts of patients who have been treated with Korlym® for the treatment of ACTH independent adrenal Cushing's Syndrome.
This randomized comparative study assesses the safety and efficacy of the posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy in comparison to the standard, anterior transperitoneal approach and suppose that this new technique is a safe and effective alternative to the standard approach.