Question: From reading this newsletter, it seems that a number of us develop Cushing’s following a pregnancy. Are Cushing’s symptoms more likely to appear after a pregnancy and if so, why? 

Answer: It may be pure coincidence; or it is possible that the corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) secreted from the placenta during the second and third trimester, stimulates the growth of already present small pituitary tumors. These tumors then declare themselves clinically sometime in the postpartum period.

By Dr. George Chrousos MD (July, 1998)