Title:Endocrine Disorders and Peripheral Arterial Disease – A Series of Reviews
Cushing Syndrome-Cortisol Excess
Volume: 22
Issue: 4
Author(s): Poredoš P, Schernthaner GH, Blinc A, Mikhailidis DP, Jensterle M, Anagnostis P, Antignani PL, Bajuk Studen K, Šabović M and Ježovnik MK*
Affiliation:
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Advanced Cardiopulmonary
Therapies and Transplantation, Houston, Texas, USA
Keywords:
Cushing syndrome, cortisol excess, metabolic syndrome, atherogenesis, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus.
Abstract: Cushing syndrome (CS), characterised by endogenous or exogenous glucocorticoid hormone
excess, is associated with several systemic complications, including impaired glucose metabolism,
which often becomes clinically manifest as diabetes mellitus (DM). In addition, CS can harm
the arterial wall because of hyperglycaemia, dyslipidaemia, hepatic steatosis, and central obesity.
These metabolic disorders promote atherosclerosis by synthesising adipokines, leptin, and proinflammatory
cytokines. Lower limb arterial complications in CS are common and significantly impact
morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, CS, in combination with DM, is likely to cause more diffuse
vascular disease that predominantly affects distal arterial beds. In conclusion, CS promotes atherosclerosis,
including peripheral artery disease, by causing functional and morphological deterioration
of the arterial vessel wall and increasing the presence of classical risk factors of atherosclerosis.
