Cushing's syndrome describes body changes caused by too much cortisol activity over a long time.
Cortisol is a hormone made by the body. Cushing's syndrome describes body changes caused by too much cortisol-like activity over a long time. This can result from glucocorticoid medicines, commonly called steroid medicines, or from the body making too much cortisol.
Cushing disease is a specific cause of Cushing's syndrome involving the pituitary, a small gland at the base of the brain. It is not a name for every case of the syndrome. Symptoms or one cortisol result do not establish the cause, so clinical and laboratory assessment must distinguish among possibilities.

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