Food-dependent Cushing’s syndrome due to unilateral adrenocortical adenoma with cortisol secretion without ACTH elevation detected in peripheral blood by the CRH test: a case report

Abstract

We report an extremely rare case of a 61-year old woman with food-dependent Cushing’s syndrome (FDC) due to unilateral adrenocortical adenoma (UAA) with cortisol (CORT) secretion without ACTH elevation detected in peripheral blood by the CRH test. She was on oral medications for hypertension and depression, and presented weight gain, general fatigue, muscle weakness, and hypokalemia. Despite the fact that the diurnal variation of ACTH was always suppressed, a diurnal variation in CORT was observed, in the form of low levels in the early morning and high levels in the afternoon. An increase in CORT was shown in a 75 g-oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and in a mixed meal tolerance test, but no change in CORT levels was seen in intravenous glucose tolerance tests. Elevated CORT levels were observed in response to intravenous injection of CRH, although ACTH levels were always below the measured sensitivity. Laparoscopic left adrenalectomy was performed, which resulted in postoperative improvement in potassium and ACTH levels and disappearance of the CORT secretory response in the OGTT. Clear expression of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR), CRH and CRH receptor 2 (CRHR2) were confirmed in the surgically-resected UAA specimen by molecular and immunohistochemical analyses, suggesting the involvement of not only GIPR, but also CRH and CRHR2 in FDC.