posted by Tess on Oct 20
Cushing’s disease is a dreadful disorder but it is often confused with the natural aging process of dogs. Excessive hair loss and a thin brittle skin accompanied by a distended abdomen tend to change the appearance of your dog.
Cushing’s disease is actually a common name given to hyperadrenocorticism, a glandular disorder caused by excessive cortisol, a hormone produced by the adrenal cortex on stimulation by a pituitary hormone. Although the adrenal cortex may itself be causing excessive hormones, Cushing’s disease is specifically associated with an increase in cortisol due to the development of a pituitary tumor.
A vast majority of cases of high levels of cortisol turn out to be conditions related to a pituitary problem and it is only in rare cases that the condition is treatable by surgery. Conventional treatment of this endocrine dysfunction usually involves administration of oral drugs. Mitotane is commonly used in the treatment of pituitary-dependent Cushing’s syndrome in dogs. As the disease can also be caused due to a problem with the adrenal glands, the prefix pituitary-dependent is added to differentiate Cushing’s disease from Cushing’s syndrome.
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