Endocrinology Flashcards
What is Cushing’s syndrome?
- refers to signs and symptoms
- after prolonged abnormal elevation of cortisol
What is Cushing’s disease?
- refers to specific condition
- where pituitary adenoma
- secretes excessive ACTH
5 things that high levels of stress hormone can cause?
- hypertension
- cardiac hypertrophy
- hyperglycaemia (t2dm)
- depression
- Insomnia
5 key characteristics of a patient with Cushing’s disease?
- round moon face
- central obesity
- abdominal striae
- buffalo hump
- proximal limb muscle wasting
state 4 causes of Cushing’s syndrome?
- patients on long term high dose steroids
- Pituitary adenoma releasing excessive ACTH (Cushing’s disease)
- Adrenal adenoma (hormone secreting adrenal tumour)
- paraneoplastic Cushing’s
What is paraneoplastic Cushing’s?
- excess ACTH
- released from a cancer (not of the pituitary)
- stimulates excessive cortisol release
What is the most common cause of paraneoplastic Cushing’s?
Small cell lung cancer
What tests might you do to test for Cushing’s?
Dexamethasone suppression test
What is a normal response for a low dose dexamethasone suppression test?
1mg
- dexamethasone to suppress
- release of cortisol
- through negative feedback on hypothalamus and pituitary
- hypothalamus responds by reducing CRH
- pituitary responds by reducing ACTH
When the cortisol level is not suppressed, this is the abnormal result seen in Cushing’s Syndrome.
When is the high dose dexamethasone suppression test performed?
8mg
after abnormal result on the low dose test
Describe high dose dexamethasone suppression test in Cushing’s disease?
In Cushing’s disease
- pituitary still shows some response to negative feedback
- 8mg d.methasone enough to suppress cortisol
Describe high dose dexamethasone test in presence of adrenal adenoma?
In Adrenal adenoma
- cortisol production independent from pituitary
- cortisol not suppressed
- ACTH suppressed due to negative feedback
- on hypothalamus and pituitary gland
Where there is ectopic ACTH, describe result of high dose dexamethasone test?
In Ectopic ACTH (e.g. from small cell lung cancer)
- neither cortisol nor ACTH suppressed
- ACTH production independent of hypothalamus of pituitary
Describe 6 other investigations for Cushing’s?
Give an example of what might be found in these 6 investigations
- 24 hr urinary free cortisol
- FBC (raised white cells)
- U&Es (K+ low if aldosterone also secreted by adrenal adenoma)
- MRI (pituitary adenoma)
- Chest CT (small cell lung cancer)
- Abdominal CT (adrenal tumours)
3 main treatment options for Cushings?
Surgically remove tumour
- Tran sphenoidal (removal of pituitary adenoma)
- surgical removal of adrenal tumour
- surgical removal of tumour producing ectopic ACTH
If surgical removal of the underlying cause of Cushing’s is not possible, what else might be done?
- remove adrenals
- give patient steroid hormone replacement for life
What is Adrenal Insufficiency?
- where adrenal glands don’t produce enough steroid hormones
- mainly cortisol and aldosterone
What is Addison’s disease?
- adrenals damaged
- reduction in secretion of cortisol and aldosterone
- aka primary adrenal insufficiency
- autoimmune
Addisons disease is also called…
primary adrenal insufficiency
Secondary adrenal insufficiency results from:
- inadequate ACTH stimulating adrenals
- results in low cortisol release
- aar of loss of damage to pituitary
Sheehan’s syndrome
- massive blood loss during child birth
- leads to pituitary gland necrosis
What is tertiary adrenal insufficiency?
- result of inadequate CRH by hypothalamus
- aar of patients being on long term oral steroids
- causing suppression of hypothalamus
5 main symptoms of adrenal insufficiency
- fatigue
- nausea
- cramps
- abdominal pain
- reduced libido
2 main signs of adrenal insufficiency
- bronze hyperpigmentation
2. hypotension (particularly postural hypotension)
Why does bronze hyperpigmentation occur in adrenal insufficiency?
ACTH stimulates melanocytes
to produce melanin
hyperpigmentation found particularly in skin creases
Describe ACTH levels in primary adrenal failure?
- primary adrenal failure
- ACTH level is high
- pituitary trying to stimulate adrenals without any negative feedback
Describe ACTH levels in secondary adrenal failure?
- ACTH low
- adrenal glands not stimulated by ACTH
- thus not producing cortisol
Test of choice for adrenal insufficiency?
- short synacthen test
- synthetic acth
- blood cortisol measured at baseline, 30 min then 60 mins post administration
- failure of cortisol to rise, less than double, indicates primary adrenal insufficiency
Treatment of adrenal insufficiency?
- steroid replacement
- hydrocortisone (glucocorticoid, used to replace cortisol)
- fludrocortisone (mineralocorticoid, used to replace aldosterone(
During acute illness in a patient with adrenal insufficiency what happens to steroid dose?
- steroid dose doubled
- until patient has recovered
- to match normal steroid response to illness
4 main presentations of patient in an Addisonian Crisis?
- reduced consciousness
- hypotension
- hypoglycaemia, hyponatraemia, hyperkalaemia
- VERY UNWELL
management of Addisonian Crisis
- Parenteral steroids (IV hydrocortisone 100mg stat, then 100mg every 6hrs)
- IV fluid resus
- correct hypoglycaemia
- monitor electrolytes and fluid balance
Low TSH
High T3 & T4
Hyperthyroidism
High TSH
Low T3 & T4
Primary hypothyroidism
Low TSH
Low T3 and T4
Secondary hypothyroidism
In which two conditions are antithyroid peroxidase antibodies found?
anti-TPO
- usually present in Grave’s disease
- and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
In which three conditions are anti-thyroglobulin antibodies present?
- graves disease
- hashimoto’s thyroiditis
- thyroid cancer
in which condition are TSH receptor antibodies found?
- autoantibodies
- mimic TSH
- bind to TSH receptor
- stimulate thyroid hormone release
Diffuse high uptake in radioisotope scan is found in which condition?
Grave’s disease
Focal, high uptake in radioisotope scans are found in which two conditions?
- toxic multinodular goitre
2. adenomas
cold areas on radioisotope scan may indicate
- low uptake
- thyroid cancer
Describe primary hyperthyroidism
- due to thyroid pathology
- thyroid itself is misbehaving
- and producing excess thyroid hormone
What is secondary hyperthyroidism
- thyroid produces excess thyroid hormone
- as a result of overstimulation by thyroid stimulating hormone
- pathology either hypothalamus or pituitary
Condition where nodules develop on thyroid gland that act independently of the normal feedback system
and continuously produce excessive thyroid hormone
toxic multinodular goitre
What is key features are caused by Grave’s disease?
Exophthalmos
Pretibial myxoedema
What causes pretibial myoxoedema?
- deposits of mucin under skin
- of anterior leg
- gives discoloured, waxy, oedematous appearance to skin
- due to reaction to the TSH receptor antibodies