Long-term cognitive effects of glucocorticoid excess in Cushing's syndrome.
Psychoneuroendocrinology
; 65: 26-33, 2016 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26708069
ABSTRACT
CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE:
We previously found that patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS) scored lower than controls in several domains of cognitive function and that correction of hypercortisolism is not necessarily correlated with short-term improvement in intellectual performance. Here, we examined the long-term outcome in patients treated for CS by assessing the extent to which the detrimental effects of glucocorticoid (GC) excess on cognition can be reversed three years after corrective surgery.DESIGN:
A battery of neuropsychological tests, including tests of attention, visuospatial processing, learning and memory, and executive functioning were administered pre-treatment and 12, 24 and 36 months post-treatment. PATIENTS AND CONTROLSUBJECTS:
We included 18 patients with endogenous CS recruited before surgical treatment and 18 controls matched for age, sex and education.RESULTS:
CS patients performed worse than controls on tests of attention, executive functioning and nonverbal aspects of memory. Moreover, at 36 months following eucortisolism, executive function performance and, to a lesser extent, attention tasks showed limited change compared to pre-treatment testing.CONCLUSION:
Chronic hypercortisolism is accompanied by a deleterious impact on aspects of cognitive function. This negative effect on attention, executive performance and nonverbal memory seen in patients with CS suggests a differential effect of excess GCs upon different brain areas and networks. This influence persists years after the return to normal cortisol secretion levels.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Transtornos Cognitivos
/
Síndrome de Cushing
/
Glucocorticoides
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2016
Tipo de documento:
Article