Endocrinol Metab.  2015 Dec;30(4):488-493. 10.3803/EnM.2015.30.4.488.

Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Patients with Cushing Syndrome: Evaluation with Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Ankle-Brachial Index

• Petramala
• Lorenzo D
• Iannucci G
• Concistre
• Zinnamosca L
• Marinelli
• De Vincentis G
• Ciardi A
• De Toma G
• Letizia C

• KMID: 2169657
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2015.30.4.488

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Cushing syndrome (CS) has been described as a killing disease due its cardiovascular complications. In fact, chronic cortisol excess leads to a constellation of complications, including hypertension, hyperglycemia, adiposity, and thromboembolism. The main vascular alteration associated with CS is atherosclerosis.
METHODS
Aim of this study was to analyze carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and ankle-brachial index (ABI), two surrogate markers of subclinical atherosclerosis in a consecutive series of CS patients, compared to patients with essential hypertension (EH) and health subjects (HS).
RESULTS
Patients with CS showed a significant increase (P<0.05) of cIMT (0.89+/-0.17 mm) compared to EH (0.81+/-0.16 mm) and HS (0.75+/-0.4 mm), with a high prevalence of plaque (23%; P<0.03). Moreover, CS patients showed a mean ABI values (1.07+/-0.02) significantly lower respect to HS (1.12+/-0.11; P<0.05), and a higher percentage (20%) of pathological values of ABI (< or =0.9; P<0.03).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we confirmed and extended the data of cIMT in CS, and showed that the ABI represent another surrogate marker of subclinical atherosclerosis in this disease.

Keyword

Cushing syndrome; Subclinical atherosclerosis; Carotid intima-media thickness; Ankle brachial index

MeSH Terms

Adiposity
Ankle Brachial Index*
Atherosclerosis*
Carotid Intima-Media Thickness*
Cushing Syndrome*
Homicide
Humans
Hydrocortisone
Hyperglycemia
Hypertension
Prevalence
Thromboembolism
Biomarkers
Hydrocortisone

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