Cushing's syndrome

(Harvey William Cushing, 18691939, American surgeon), endocrinological disease due to increased cortisol levels, secondary to an adrenal tumour, an ectopic source of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) production, or an ACTH-producing pituitary adenoma (see pituitary adenoma).

Cushing's syndrome occurs more frequently in women between the ages of 20 and 60 years; the principal clinical signs are obesity, hirsutism, hypertension, amenorrhoea, purple striae, weakness and acne.

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