CUSHINGS DISEASE

Cushings disease, or adrenal hyperplasia (enlargement), is a hormonal disorder that is fairly common in middle age and older dogs.  The adrenals are small glands that lie in front of the kidneys.  They produce cortisone and other hormones the dog needs for survival.  Cushings disease is caused when the adrenals are producing too much cortisone.  This causes the dog to eat, drink, and urinate more.  It can also cause hair loss, and predispose your dog to diabetes and pancreatitis.

There are two forms of Cushings disease – pituitary dependent and primary adrenal tumor.  The most common form is pituitary dependent.  The pituitary gland is in the brain and it begins to produce too much “stimulating hormone” which tells the adrenals to produce more cortisone.  If this is the type of Cushings your dog has, it can be treated with a medication called Lysodren.  Lysodren destroys part of the adrenal glands so that even though the pituitary is telling the adrenals to produce cortisone, they can only produce a little, hopefully a normal amount.  Lysordren is a very powerful medication and dogs must be monitored carefully to prevent cortisol levels from going too low.  Tests must be don to measure the affect of the Lysodren and the patient must be monitored for changes in appetite, water consumption, vomiting, and weakness.  The second form of Cushings is an actual tumor of one of the adrenal glands.  This form is less common and is treated surgically.

Once your dog has been diagnosed with Cushings, further testing may need to be done to determine which form they have.  At that point, treatment options can be considered.

Treatment Protocol for Cushings Disease Using Lysodren

1.Measure your dog’s food intake for 3 days.

2.Begin feeding your dog 1/3 of its daily ration twice a day – in effect give them only 2/3 of what they would normally eat in one day (they will be hungry).

3.At the same time, begin Lysodren treatment twice daily right after meals.

4.The first time your dog does not finish their food, stop medication and set up an appointment for an ACTH Stim test the next day.

5.Once we get the test results we will adjust the dosage of medication and plan further follow up.

Cushings disease is not “cured” – it is managed.  Some dogs are very difficult to stabilize and require frequent testing. A small percentage of dogs have reactions to the Lysodren that forces us to stop treatment or even change to a different treatment.

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