What Is Cushing Syndrome?
2. Overproduction
One of the reasons for the high cortisol levels is simply that the body makes too much of the hormone. There are different reasons why this might happen, and one of these is a primary adrenal gland disease. Another is familial Cushing syndrome, and this causes tumors to grow on the patient’s endocrine glands.
An ACTH-secreting tumor is a tumor that causes a gland to start producing the adrenocorticotropic hormone when it otherwise would not do. This hormone regulates the production of cortisol, so more cortisol will be produced as a result. A pituitary gland tumor is also a potential cause, as are cancerous tumors of the adrenal cortex.
Advertisement
