Endocrine Abstracts

In Cushing syndrome (CS), glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis is suggested to be the main reason for drug-induced osteoporosis. This health condition creates weaknesses in bones which are then easily fractured.Studies estimate that osteoporosis is under diagnosed in the UK by around 50%, and according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation 2021, osteoporosis is a major healthcare burden in Europe with 4.3 million fragility fractures and healthcare costs more tha...

Introduction: Prior to and since the onset of my Doctorate study in 2019, a plethora of on-going research including my own has been conducted into the diagnosis, treatment, and management of Cushing syndrome (CS), and disease (CD). These conditions continue to challenge physicians not only in the diagnosis but how to treat their patients. The wide clinical spectrum of CS and CD produces a medical dilemma as patients’ symptoms, can vary. The typical Cushingoid features whi...

Introduction: As a Cushing syndrome (CS), patient myself and healthcare researcher I recognise that the patient’s voice is the strongest weapon in a clinician’s toolbox. Conducting a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), study on a condition you have been diagnosed with was a journey of discoveries. My CS took almost 7 years to diagnose having been referred to a myriad of physicians prior to my definitive diagnosis. This was the driving force behind my desire to find out if ot...

Background: CS and CD, a baffling portmanteau of symptoms, each often ascribed to other medical conditions, but together representing diagnostically, challenging medical conditions. Often coming, ‘disguised’, as other stand-alone medical conditions My diagnosis of CS and CD took me on a tortuous diagnostic journey taking almost 6 years to diagnose. My GP, during her 12 years of practice had never diagnosed CS. As part of my current PhD study of CS/CD, one of my obj...

BackgroundHaving experienced Cushing’s syndrome and disease, this author is now a Doctor of Philosophy student studying these medical conditions with the main aim of finding out if others diagnosed with these illnesses have experienced similar diagnostic and treatment journeys with similar outcomes.MethodAn online 2020 survey was conducted on 86 Cushing’s members of the Pituitary Foundation, (Female...

BackgroundSimilar to other patients with life-threatening medical conditions, the fear of contracting COVID-19 for Cushing Syndrome (CS) patients is a natural reaction which has created a number of urgent questions, requiring answers. These questions include: how my body will react to the virus; will my current comorbidities increase; what will happen if I don’t have my regular clinic appointments, surgery and chemotherapy treatments? What do I do i...