Cortisol is a hormone produced in the body that regulates a number of processes, including the body's stress response and inflammation. Patients with high cortisol experience a number of effects, and sustained high cortisol levels can lead to diseases such as Cushing's syndrome. Patients with sustained high cortisol may experience a number of symptoms such as weight gain and central obesity, excess hair growth, thin and fragile skin, and sexual dysfunction. A number of underlying conditions or factors can cause high cortisol.
Corticosteroid Use
High cortisol levels on a hormone test can result from prolonged corticosteroid use. Corticosteroids are drugs that help regulate inflammation in the body by mimicking cortisol. A commonly-prescribed corticosteroid is prednisone, used to treat inflammatory disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and lupus or to prevent immune responses after transplant surgeries. Prolonged use of corticosteroids leads to increased perceived levels of cortisol in the blood, reports MedlinePlus. The use of these drugs can be sufficient to lead to adverse affects associated with high cortisol, such as Cushing's syndrome.
Pituitary Adenoma
In some cases, patients develop high cortisol levels due to excess cortisol production. Pituitary adenomas, a type of hormone-secreting tumor, cause high cortisol levels. The pituitary gland, found at the base of the brain, functions to secrete a number of hormones, including ATCH. ATCH circulates throughout the blood and triggers for the release of cortisol from the adrenal gland on top of the kidneys. Normally, the release of ATCH from the pituitary is regulated to respond to the needs of the body, Pituitary adenomas may display dysregulation of hormone release to constantly secrete ATCH, so the adrenal glands are always signaled to release cortisol. Prolonged overproduction of ATCH leads to chronically elevated cortisol levels.
Other Hormone-Secreting Tumors
The University of California, San Francisco reports that developing endocrine, hormone-secreting tumors causes sustained high cortisol levels, which can, in turn, cause adverse effects such as Cushing's disease. In some cases, tumors can develop on the adrenal glands, the organs that normally produce and secret cortisol. These cortisol-releasing tumors lead to sustained high cortisol levels. Tumors on the adrenal glands may be due to a condition called primary pigmented micronodular adrenal disease.
Other cases of high cortisol may be caused by multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, or MEN1, which can lead to ATCH-secreting tumors in the pancreas, adrenal glands, or other parts of the body. The excess ATCH stimulates over-production of cortisol, leading to sustained high cortisol levels.
