Question: Are those who have had Cushing’s more likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s? 

Answer: This is currently unknown. We know that patients in long-term biochemical remission of Cushing’s syndrome show subtle cognitive difficulties (for example in the memory domain). In addition, we know that cortisol can impact brain areas that are heavily involved in memory. However, there have been no studies, to my knowledge, that have looked into the relation between dementia and Cushing’s syndrome.

By Dr. Jitske Tiemensma, Associate Professor of Psychology, Psychoneuroendocrinology Researcher, UC Merced, Merced, CA, Spring, 2017