WHO IS MR. CUSHING (Cushing's Syndrome)

Cushing syndrome is a disease that occurs when your body produces too much of the hormone cortisol. It may also occur if you use take too much cortisol or other steroid hormones. It is characterized by upper body OBESITY; OSTEOPOROSIS; HYPERTENSION; DIABETES MELLITUS; HIRSUTISM; AMENORRHEA; and excess body fluid. Endogenous Cushing syndrome or spontaneous hypercortisolism is divided into two groups, those due to an excess of ADRENOCORTICOTROPIN and those that are ACTH-independent. Cushing's syndrome is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Cushing's syndrome, or a subtype of Cushing's syndrome, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.