This study estimates the recovery of bone mineral density (BMD), markers of bone remodeling and quality of life in patients with endogenous Cushing’s syndrome (CS) after 12 months of achieving remission. Materials and methods: 21 patients with CS were prospectively evaluated at active stage of the disease and after being in a full remission (substitutional therapy with hydrocortisone or normal 24 hours urinary free cortisol (24h UFC) and late-night cortisol) during 12 months.A thoracic and lumbar X-ray was performed to reveal vertebral fractures. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by DXA ((Prodigy, Lunar, GE, USA). The level of 24h UFC was measured on a VitrosECi. Late-night serum cortisol and markers of bone remodeling were assayed by ECLIA Cobas e601 Roche. Patients fulfilled EQ-5D, ECOS-16 questionnaires and performed "up-and-go ”, "tandem ” and "chair-rising ” tests. Results: Among enrolled patients 17 (80%) were females and 4 (20%) - males; median of age (Q25-Q75) - 41 (33-49) years old; in 10 cases (48%) low traumatic fractures were diagnosed: 7 patients suffered from vertebral fractures; in 3 cases - ribs fractures. After the achieving remission no new fractures were registered and significant improvement in Z-score was reviled at all regions: L1-L4 -1,8 [-2,6; -0.5] at active stage vs -1,2 [-2,2; -0.5] after 12 months of remission (p=0.05); Neck Z-score -0,9 [-1,7; - 0,8] vs -0,7 [-1,6; -0,3], (p=0,003). The level of both bone metabolism markers increased: osteocalcin from 8,2 (6,912,0) to 22,7 (12,1-36,5) ng/ml (p=0,01) and CTx from 0,35 (0,22-0,63) to 0,7(0,28-1,05) ng/ml (p=0,01); whereas 24hUFC decreased from 1449 (926,4-2371) nmol/24h to 66,4(54,2-76,4) nmol/24h (p=0,01). The quality of life significantly improved at all dimensions if measured by ECOS-16. According to the EQ-5D patients suffered less from pain 1,35 (0,49) vs 1,12 (0,34), (p=0,04) and reported the improvement in their health (visual analogue scale) from 49 (18,9) to 68 (10,9), (p=0,004), but did not differ in others dimensions. Although 100% of patients admitted the improvement in their functional ability, the difference in functional tests did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Achieving the remission of CS improves BMD and quality of life in patients with CS. However, longer time is needed for full recovery, including the functional performance.
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