You may or may not know that Cushing’s disease can be challenging to diagnose because no two cases are exactly the same.
People can experience symptoms or even a combination of symptoms such as, but not limited to:
- increased high blood pressure severe fatigue
- weakness
- intense fatigue
- obesity
- osteoporosis
- excessive facial hair
- irregular menstrual cycles
- low testosterone, low sex drive (especially in men)
- dry mouth
- increased urination frequency
- depression and/or anxiety
- round, moon-like shaped face with pronounced fatty deposits under the chin and neck
- shoulders and back that appear rounded with pronounced fatty deposits
Because of the variety and intensity of these symptoms, scientists at NIH set out to map Cushing’s thoroughly.
With more awareness, hopefully more and more people will receive a proper diagnosis—and start on treatment sooner.
If I understand the controlled study correctly, scientists partnered with an insurance company to analyze and compare their database of customer claims. They carefully examined the likelihood of someone developing Cushing’s disease based on individual symptoms, which they compared against people who had the same symptoms but did not have Cushing’s disease. I may be over-simplifying, but it sure looks like they found patterns that could lead to an early and proper diagnosis.
