Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cushing's syndrome caused by intra-adrenocortical adrenocorticotropic hormone in a dog.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary internal medicine
- Year:
- 2022
- Authors:
- Soler Arias, Elber A et al.
- Affiliation:
- Hospital Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria-U. Endocrinologí
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 13-year-old Labrador retriever was diagnosed with Cushing's syndrome, which is a condition where the body produces too much cortisol, due to changes in its adrenal glands. Tests showed that the problem was not coming from the pituitary gland, which is often the case in Cushing's, but rather from the adrenal glands themselves. During a thorough examination after the dog passed away, a tumor called a pheochromocytoma was also discovered. The findings suggest that dogs can have a type of adrenal gland issue similar to what humans experience, which complicates how we understand and label these conditions. The treatment's effectiveness wasn't mentioned, but the case highlights the complexity of diagnosing and treating Cushing's syndrome in dogs.
Abstract
A 13-year-old Labrador retriever was diagnosed with Cushing's syndrome (CS) caused by primary bilateral nodular adrenocortical hyperplasia with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) expression. The pituitary origin of CS was ruled out by suppression of plasma ACTH concentration and absence of a proliferative lesion on histological evaluation of the pituitary gland using periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining, reticulin staining, and immunostaining for ACTH. A pheochromocytoma also was found at necropsy examination. On histological evaluation of both adrenal glands, at the junction of the fascicular and glomerular zones, multiple cell clusters distributed in both hyperplastic adrenal cortices expressed ACTH, whereas the pheochromocytoma cells did not. These results indicate that a disease similar to primary bilateral macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia in humans also occurs in dogs, with intra-adrenocortical expression of ACTH, glucocorticoids excess, and clinical signs of CS. Therefore, the term ACTH-independent could be inappropriate in some cases of bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia and suppressed plasma ACTH concentration in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34859494/