Sabrina Na, Mary A Fernandes, Adriana G Ioachimescu, Suzanne Penna. Behavioural Neurology. 2020, article id 4064370, https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/4064370
Changes in structure and function of the brain during Cushing’s have been documented, and we patients know from personal experience the cognitive and emotional difficulties faced during active disease and post-op. Patients treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA are referred for in-depth testing to the neuropsychology department, and doctors are now able to begin reporting data based on the collective results. This study compared 18 patients – 11 in active Cushing’s and 7 in remission – on several points including attention, cognitive flexibility, and self-reported depression and anxiety. The goals of the study were to look at neuropsychological and emotional functioning with emphasis on attention and memory.
The results are complex and go into detail far beyond anything we could accurately summarize here, so if this is a topic of interest to you we enthusiastically suggest that you read the article in depth. Co-author Dr. Suzanne Penna gave a highly rated presentation on this topic at our patient conference in 2019; you can access that video and all other materials from that meeting at https://csrf.net/patientconference2019/.
