? 2/26/2021 Have any acrocats also been tested for cushings?

Have any acrocats here been also tested for cushings since cushings can also be caused by a pituitary tumor? Is the thin skin the tell-tell sign that cushings might be present and should be tested for?

 

Should an Acro cat also be tested for cushings?

They are different kinds of tumours. Some reading on Cushings that list symptoms:
https://icatcare.org/advice/hyperadrenocorticism-cushings-disease/
and the attached. Thin skin usually comes later on.

 

Thanks Wendy. Interesting that skin fragility is only seen on 1/3 of cats with HAC. Do you have a better version of the hypoadrenocorticism file? The file is blurry and too hard to read. Pot belly is one of the symptoms for HAC, is it also a symptom of acromegaly? Kierra has a pot belly. You said in another post that it is rare for a cat to have both acromegaly and Cushing's, is that right? So maybe I don't need to worry about it? Testing for Cushing's for cats sounds complicated. This link (from 2018) says "History, physical exam and a combination of imaging and adrenal testing are your best bets for an accurate diagnosis." https://www.dvm360.com/view/feline-facets-cushings-disease

 

Sorry, no clearer copy of the paper, any other links I have are just to the abstract and are pay for the full article. Another paper here, start page 331. There are three types of Cushings. Pituitary caused PDH the most common (80% of cases), adrenal less so (ADH) and one caused by steroids. You can do a simple Cushings - yes or no test, or go straight to ones diagnosing which types. Due to the odds, you wouldn't start with the one looking for adrenal tumours.

I don't know how common it is to have both, I have just seen papers mentioning only one case of both.

Pot bellies are very common with acros.

 

What is the simple yes/no cushing's test? Everything I have read makes it sound complicated like I quoted above.

or here: "Your vet will want to do a number of tests to aid in making a diagnosis, including blood tests, a urinalysis, x-rays of the chest and abdomen, an ultrasound of the abdomen, and perhaps a CT scan or MRI of the abdomen." www.cat-health-guide.org/felinecushingsdisease.html

Or here "The first-line screening tools are the 24-hour urinary free cortisol (UFC) test and the low-dose dexamethasone suppression test (DST)." https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/management-of-cushings-syndrome

Or here: "Diagnosis of hyperadrenocorticism is not always straightforward and usually requires multiple blood tests, urine tests and diagnostic imaging (X-rays and/or ultrasound)." https://icatcare.org/advice/hyperadrenocorticism-cushings-disease/

Or here: It is much harder to accurately diagnose Cushing’s disease in cats. There are several reasons for this but the one with the most impact on testing appears to be the ability of cats to produce high cortisol levels in response to stress. This ability makes it hard to get good results from tests that use cortisol levels to measure the response to ACTH or dexamethasone. Even though none of the tests work as well in cats as they do in dogs, there is general agreement that the urine cortisol:creatinine level and the LDDS tests probably work best at determining if Cushing’s disease is present. It is very important to note that the “low dose” dexamethasone test recommended for cats uses the dose of dexamethasone that is used for the “high dose” test in dogs. Failure to use this higher dose usually results in a meaningless test result. https://www.vetinfo.com/ccushings.html

I can't seem to access the other paper you linked - it is saying I am not connected to google or something.

 

You have a Google account because you have a spreadsheet. Log into that first and try accessing the paper. If that doesn't work I might have an electronic copy.

Also, might want to read this post from this forum with replies from Ana and Mary Anne, caregivers of Cushings cats.

 

Thanks for linking the FDMB post, it sounds like the UCCR is the simplest test. I was trying to download the academia paper (rather than read it). I don't know if I had a pswd but I did a pswd reset and was able to download it. It has some good info on testing, would be good if this could be linked on the "what we know" sticky! There are a few things that make me wonder if Kierra might also have Cushings - weight loss (rather than gain), muscle wasting, unkept coat. Have there been any kitties here that have had both acromegaly and Cushings?

 

There is a plan to rework the sticky notes. In the mean time, if you haven't seen it: Acromegaly - the basics has lots of links to papers, including the one I listed above. As for testing for both conditions, I have not seen a cat here with both acromegaly and Cushings, and have just seen reference to one in the literature. Being unregulated will also cause some weight loss and unkept coat.

 

No, I hadn't seen that yet! Wow, that definitely needs to be a sticky! A bit overwhelming though, so many links. I had not heard of freezing the tumor. Do you know if a small depression in the middle of the top of the nose ils a sign of acromegaly? Kierra's nose is wide and has a small depression. I'd take a pix except I don't think it will show up very well.