What is New in the Diagnosis of Cushing's Disease?

Anthony Carr, DMV, DACVIM (SAIM), professor at University of Saskatchewan, discusses changes in the diagnosis of Cushing's disease.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“There are some things that have changed a little bit. Certainly one the things that has raised a lot of concern over the last several years is the cost of running the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test. Recent research has shown that when we are trying to monitor the success of trilostane or mitotane therapy, we can actually use a lower dosage of ACTH than we [have used previously]. The recommendation a long time ago was to use 5 mcg/kg and newer research shows that 1 mcg/kg is adequate to do that [test]. That low dose is not adequate to make the diagnosis when using it in an ACTH stimulation test in an animal that you think has Cushing’s disease, but it is good enough for monitoring those patients.”