Medical therapy in Cushing's syndrome

Surgery is the treatment of choice for Cushing's syndrome; however, steroidogenesis inhibitors such as ketoconazole or metyrapone have been used preoperatively to lower circulating cortisol and reduce surgical risk. These agents have also been used after pituitary irradiation or unsuccessful surgery. In this retrospective study, Valassi and colleagues demonstrate that preoperative administration of ketoconazole, metyrapone or both, normalise cortisol in more than half of Cushing’s syndrome patients, although clinical improvement was not reached in all. Valassi et al. (2012) Clinical Endocrinology 77, 735–742.

Read the full (Open Access) article at: DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2012.04424.x