Active clinical trials for "Pituitary ACTH Hypersecretion"

Currently, 2-3% of the population of the United Kingdom and United States of America receive glucocorticoid therapy. Significant adverse effects are not confined to chronic use; recurrent short-course administration is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The adverse metabolic features associated with glucocorticoid use include obesity, skeletal muscle myopathy, hypertension, insulin resistance and diabetes and are collectively termed 'iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome'. The efficacy of glucocorticoid therapy is not in doubt, but there are no interventions to reduce their metabolic consequences. Within metabolic tissues (liver, skeletal muscle, adipose), 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) regenerates active glucocorticoid and therefore is able to tightly control the availability of glucocorticoids to activate the glucocorticoid receptor. In preclinical studies, the investigators have shown that 11β-HSD1 is critical in regulating the development of the adverse features associated with circulating glucocorticoid excess, endorsing our observations in a patient with Cushing's disease, who was protected from a classical phenotype due to a functional deficit in 11β-HSD1. This study is the first clinical evaluation of the impact of the selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor, AZD4017, in healthy volunteers taking exogenous glucocorticoids (prednisolone). The investigators propose that in tissues expressing high levels of 11β-HSD1, prednisolone action will be amplified, driving adverse effects within these tissues and have hypothesized that AZD4017 in humans will reduce the adverse metabolic consequences of Prednisolone administration without compromise to its anti-inflammatory action. Our specific research objectives are: To demonstrate the beneficial effect of the selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor, AZD4017, upon the prednisolone-induced deterioration in metabolic phenotype, including glucose disposal and endogenous glucose production rates. To determine the impact of AZD4017 on the anti-inflammatory actions of Prednisolone. To identify the tissue-specific (skeletal muscle, adipose) mechanisms underpinning the response to Prednisolone therapy administered in conjunction with AZD4017. The investigators will perform a randomized, double-blind placebo controlled study to determine if co-administration of the selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor, AZD4017, limits the adverse effects of short-course exogenous glucocorticoid administration. 32 healthy male volunteers will have detailed metabolic investigations including 2-step hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamps (with stable isotope measurements of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism), as well as assessment of skeletal muscle forearm glucose uptake. All volunteers will then be treated with Prednisolone (20mg daily) and randomized to the co-administration of placebo or AZD4017. After 1 week of therapy, all investigations will be repeated. Our hypothesis is that the adverse metabolic effects of Prednisolone will be reduced by co-administration of AZD4017.

This study was designed to check the efficacy of a new oral medical drug treatment, namely Cabergoline, for the treatment of Cushing Disease due to pituitary adenoma. Background: Cabergoline is a Dopamine 2 receptor agonist. Corticotroph adenoma has shown to have the D2 receptor in in vitro studies.

This is a long-term, open-label extension study of levoketoconazole in subjects with endogenous Cushing's Syndrome.

Study objectives are to obtain safety, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic data on the effect of mifepristone on glucose metabolism, body weight and the growth-hormone-IGF in children with refractory Cushing's disease.

The USP8 gene and its downstream target, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), is a potential therapeutic target of Cushing disease. The EGFR inhibitor, Gefitinib, has been shown to reduce the production of ACTH both in vitro and in vivo, especially in USP8-mutated corticotrophin adenomas. The investigators hypothesize that Gefitinib will suppress pituitary corticotroph tumor ACTH production and normalize urinary free cortisol levels in patients with USP8-mutated Cushing's disease. Gefitinib is an FDA approved drug used to treat non-small cell lung cancer. However, in this study, the drug will be used to treat corticotrophin adenoma.

Cushing's disease is characterized by the existence of a benign pituitary tumor developed from corticotropic cells responsible for excessive ACTH secretion. This results in hypercorticism causing high morbidity and mortality and severely impairing quality of life. The etiological diagnosis is based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). However, pituitary MRI revealed a pituitary tumor in only 60% of patients. The diagnostic procedure is complicated by the existence of extra pituitary tumors responsible for ACTH ectopic secretion. This rare etiology imposes, in the absence of typical pituitary image, the realization of catheterization of the lower petrosal sinuses. Treatment of Cushing's disease is based on transsphenoidal surgical management, even in the absence of a formal MRI image, if pituitary origin is confirmed by the catheterization. Although pituitary surgery without identified target is part of French recommendations, this surgery is associated with a high risk of failure and morbidity. Optimization of the management of patients' with Cushing's disease thus requires the improvement of the diagnostic methods. Hypothesis of our study is that [11C] MET MRI-PET may be performed as a first-line MRI for suspected Cushing's disease and may limit indications for catheterization of lower petrosal sinuses. Its localizing value should also make it possible to improve the surgical results with a better identification of the adenoma

The biochemical tools usable to assess the control of hypercortisolism in patients with Cushing's disease receiving medical treatments are debatable. The aim of the study is to compare the results of the measurement of cortisol and cortisone using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in scalp hair (so called "Hair Cortisol") to that of 24h urinary free cortisol (UFC) and late night salivary cortisol (LNSC) for the monitoring of medical therapy in patients with Cushing's disease (CD).

This study investigates the effects of the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol on brain structure and function. Patients with Cushing's disease are studied before and after treatment. Brain imaging and neuropsychologic tests are used to study changes in the hippocampus and thinking and learning functions as well as mood during the period of elevated cortisol. At several intervals after treatment, these are reexamined to study the degree of reversibility of the abnormalities. The contribution of cortisol as well as testosterone and estrogen to dysfunction and recovery is studied. Since elevated cortisol and dysregulation of its secretory system occurs in a significant proportion of the aged and in Alzheimers Disease and Major Depressive Disorder, these studies will help advance knowledge of the role of cortisol in these conditions.

This prospective controlled interventional study aims to reveal the diversity of vitamin D metabolism in patients with certain endocrine disorders (Cushing's disease, acromegaly, primary hyperparathyroidism, diabetes mellitus type 1) compared to healthy adults. All patients will receive a single dose (150,000 IU) of cholecalciferol aqueous solution orally. Laboratory assessments including serum vitamin D metabolites (25(OH)D3, 25(OH)D2, 1,25(OH)2D3, 3-epi-25(OH)D3, 24,25(OH)2D3 and D3), free 25(OH)D, vitamin D-binding protein (DBP) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) as well as serum and urine biochemical parameters will be performed before the intake and on Days 1, 3 and 7 after the administration.

This proposal will evaluate the glucocorticoid mediated changes in body fat distribution and metabolism that occur in patients with Cushing's disease. The objective is to identify the mechanisms that influence both the accumulation of lipodystrophic fat and also the changes in energy expenditure and metabolism that accompany them. The study is designed to determine if the high cortisol and AgRP levels in the blood of people living with Cushing's syndrome, either from taking steroid medications or from tumors, impact body fat and metabolism by turning off brown fat, which is a type of fat that increases one's metabolism.