Cushing's syndrome, which became known to the public due to the illnesses of the famous movie actress Türkan Şoray and singer-songwriter Sezen Aksu, was previously known only to us doctors and those who experienced the disease. Cushing's syndrome refers to unusual symptoms that occur as a result of the body's exposure to excessive cortisone hormone. It was given this name because it was first described by a scientist named Harvey Cushing. The main reason is excessive cortisone production in the body. Cortisone is a hormone produced in the adrenal gland. The hormone production of this gland is under the control of the pituitary gland in the front of the brain. Depending on the body's need for cortisone, a signal goes from the pituitary gland to the adrenal gland to increase or decrease cortisone production. The hormone that carries this signal is ACTH (adrenocorticotropin hormone). If the cortisone hormone is produced excessively for any reason, such as a tumor in the adrenal gland, or if ACTH, which stimulates the adrenal gland, is secreted excessively due to a tumor in the pituitary gland, the body is faced with excess cortisone hormone production. The condition of cortisone excess that occurs as a result of excessive ACTH production from the pituitary gland is called Cushing's disease. Adrenal gland tumors can sometimes be cancer. Rarely, the cortisone hormone may be secreted not from its normal place, that is, the adrenal gland, but from another organ, such as a tumor located in the lung. This leads to the same clinical symptoms. The cause of Türkan Şoray's illness was the tumor of the left adrenal gland. That's why the artist's left adrenal gland was surgically removed. The most common cause of Cushing's syndrome is taking cortisone medication in high doses for a long time. The cause of Sezen Aksu's illness was the prolonged dose and duration of cortisone treatment applied to solve the edema in the vocal cords. Medicines containing cortisone (corticosteroid group drugs) are most commonly used to suppress immune system activity and prevent inflammatory reactions in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, COPD (obstructive pulmonary diseases), and lupus disease, which is an immune system disease. As in Sezen Aksuda, it is also used to solve inflammatory edema. In the treatment of many cancers, cortisone-containing drugs are given alongside chemotherapy drugs. Cortisone emergency stop It is life-saving in the treatment of shock in cases of severe and life-threatening allergies (food allergy, bee-scorpion stings, etc.). When some patients see that the doctor uses cortisone in case of a severe allergy, they begin to recommend this medicine to each other as a simple allergy-itch pill. That's why people suffering from itching use cortisol for a long time because it is good for itching. In this case, they disrupt their body order with their own hands. What kind of disorders does excess cortisone cause in the body? In other words, what kind of symptoms occur in Cushing's syndrome?
- In Cushing's syndrome, the patient becomes fat in a short time, but this fat gain is disproportionate to the body. Due to excess cortisone, fat tissue accumulates mostly in the face, belly and neck. The face is round like the moon due to fat accumulation. This is called "face in the moon". Due to the fat accumulated in the nape of the neck, there is a humpbacked appearance in this area. This is called "buffalo hump".
-The patient's arms and legs are quite thin in inverse proportion to the thickness of the body.
- Cortisone's damage to skin proteins causes thinning of the skin and the skin is easily damaged. , thin capillaries weaken, minor bumps cause immediate bruising. Lines in the form of stretch marks appear on the hips, abdomen, arms and legs. The lines on the abdomen resemble pregnancy-related abdominal skin stretch marks in women. There are spots on the face, chest and shoulders, and browning of the neck skin. Facial skin is red and puffy. The patient appears short of breath.
The picture shows the abdominal skin cracks of the patient with Cushing's.
-The patients' legs are swollen (there is edema).
-Excessive sweating occurs.
-Arm, leg, shoulder and hip muscles are weak. Even climbing stairs is difficult. Their bones are weak, and ordinary lifting of objects or sudden body movements in daily life can lead to bone fractures in these people.
-Since the immune system is suppressed, injuries and infections such as scratches, cuts, insect bites, etc. in any part of the body heal slowly.
-The patient is constantly weak and tired and is prone to depression. Some patients experience fits of laughing or crying unnecessarily in inappropriate conditions and places. enters.
-Many patients have hypertension.
-In nearly half of the patients, blood sugar rises and latent or overt diabetes occurs.
-Pimples, stomach ulcers, increased eye pressure, cataracts, excessive hair growth in women and menstrual disorders are other symptoms.
-If there is cancer in the adrenal gland, in addition to these symptoms, women may experience male-type hair growth and masculine changes in their bodies.
-If the patient is a child, there is growth retardation. Some pediatric patients may have early or delayed puberty.
To protect against the disease, unnecessary, random, long-term, high-dose cortisone use should be avoided. This is especially true for patients who complain of chronic itching or joint pain and who use cortisone as a simple itching medicine or painkiller. It is beneficial to ensure that these medications are used only with the recommendation of a doctor who is an expert on the subject.
Treatment: If the cause is a tumor, whether benign or malignant, the first treatment option is surgical treatment. If the patient's condition is not suitable for surgery, anti-cortisone medications can be used. Depending on the situation, radiotherapy may be used. If the reason is the use of corticosteroid drugs, this drug is gradually discontinued.
Dear readers, I wish you a disease-free, problem-free, healthy and happy life.
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