Question: Dr. Ragnarsson, you reported results of a study on brain function involving memory following long term cure of Cushing’s. How are your findings helpful to patients? 

Answer: Yes, we used what is called a functional MRI to study brain activity during memory functions in 19 women who were successfully treated for Cushing’s and compared them to normal controls. We found that past Cushing’s patients showed lower brain responses in both encoding memories and recalling memories. Thus, patients who have experienced Cushing’s may not have normal memory performance. This is important to patients first to recognize that memory problems may persist, which by itself could be helpful in coping with memory issues, but also points to whether interventions could help improve memory.

Endo 2016: Decreased Prefrontal Functional Brain Response in Women with Cushing’s Syndrome in Remission, Poster Board SUN 433

Authors: Oskar Ragnarsson*(1), Andreas Stomby (2), Per Dahlqvist (3), Johan Arild Evang (4), Mats Ryberg (3), Tommy Olsson (5), Jens Bollerslev (4), Lars Nyberg (6) and Gudmundur Johannsson (1)

1 Institute of Medicine at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg and The Department of Endocrinology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden, 2 Region Jönköping County, Jönköping, Sweden, 3 Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden, 4 Section of Specialized Endocrinology, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway, 5 Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden, 6 Department of Radiation Sciences (Diagnostic Radiology) and Umeå center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå, Sweden

Newsletter: Summer, 2016