A Cushingoid patient presents with acute, severe respiratory distress. What is your top concern?

A Cushingoid patient presents with acute, severe respiratory distress. What is your top concern?

Answer: Pulmonary thromboembolism

Name 3 reasons for the classic "pot bellied" appearance of animals with Cushing's Disease.

Name 3 reasons for the classic "pot bellied" appearance of animals with Cushing's Disease.

- Atrophy of abdominal muscles
- Redistribution of fat
- Hepatomegaly

What age group is most commonly affected by Cushing's Disease?

What age group is most commonly affected by Cushing's Disease?

Answer: Middle-aged to geriatric animals.

Name 6 major clinical signs of Cushing's Disease.

Name 6 major clinical signs of Cushing's Disease.

- PU/PD
- Bilateral truncal alopecia
- Dermal atrophy & fragility
- Muscle atrophy
- Pot belly
- Insulin resistance

Name 3 physiologic mechanisms of PU/PD in a Cushingoid animal.

Name 3 physiologic mechanisms of PU/PD in a Cushingoid animal.

- ADH antagonism/decreased secretion
- Concurrent diabetes mellitus
- Decreased renal tubular water permeability --> decreased water resorption

Cushing's Disease in cats shares a common presentation with another endocrine disease. What is the presentation, what is the other disease, and is there a simple way to distinguish the two?

Cushing's Disease in cats shares a common presentation with another endocrine disease. What is the presentation, what is the other disease, and is there a simple way to distinguish the two?

Answer: Cushing's cats are often diabetic and have severe insulin resistance. The same thing is seen in cats with acromegaly. However, acromegaly is seen mostly in male cats, while Cushing's is seen predominantly in females.

True or false: adrenal tumors occur much more frequently in female dogs than in males.

True or false: adrenal tumors occur much more frequently in female dogs than in males.

Answer: True. About 70% of adrenal tumors in dogs are seen in female dogs.

Name 4 dog breeds predisposed to Cushing's Disease.

Name 4 dog breeds predisposed to Cushing's Disease.

- Poodles
- Boston Terrier
- Boxer
- Dachshund