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Skin manifestations of Cushing’s syndrome

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Abstract

Among the most common diagnostic manifestations of Cushing’s syndrome (CS) are those involving the skin; they include violaceous striae, facial acne, hirsutism, acanthosis nigricans (AN), fungal infections, hyperpigmentation (Hp) and easy bruisability. Fortunately, most resolve within a year or two after cure of CS, although light-colored striae can persist for years depending on the age of the patients. AN, Hp, and bruisability usually resolve within months after cure in almost all ages. Facial plethora (along with acne and other facial skin changes) is a typical sign of CS that is due to increased perfusion. It resolves immediately after curative therapy of CS. Typically, the severity of the manifestations does not correlate with the biochemical indices of the disease, pointing to age, gender, genetic and skin-type differences that determine the cutaneous manifestations of CS.

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Acknowledgements

This review was supported by the research project Z01-HD008920 (Principal Investigator: Dr. Constantine A Stratakis) of the Intramural Research Program of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA.

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  1. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Room East 1330, CRC, 10 Center Dr. MSC1862, Bethesda, MD, 20892-1862, USA

    Constantine A. Stratakis

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Correspondence to Constantine A. Stratakis.

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Stratakis, C.A. Skin manifestations of Cushing’s syndrome. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 17, 283–286 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11154-016-9399-3

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