RT Journal Article
T1 A clinical profile of memory impairment in humans due to endogenous glucocorticoid excess
A1 León-Carrión, José
A1 Atutxa, Ainara Madrazo
A1 Mangas, Miguel Angel
A1 Soto-Moreno, Alfonso
A1 Pumar, Alfonso
A1 Leon-Justel, Antonio
A1 Martín-Rodriguez, Juan Francisco
A1 Venegas, Eva
A1 Domínguez-Morales, Mª Rosario
A1 Leal-Cerro, Alfonso
AB Objective Glucocorticoid excess is commonly related to neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders, with memory impairment typically found among these disorders. The objective of this study is to offer a clinical profile of memory deficits resulting from exposure to chronic stress-level elevations of endogenous glucocorticoids in patients with Cushing's Syndrome (CS).Study subjects Thirty female participants of matching age and education level were studied: 15 had untreated CS (mean age 38 ± 14) and 15 were healthy. In all patients, CS was confirmed by histology of the lesion after surgery.Design Different learning and memory processes were assessed using an adapted version of Luria's Memory Words-Revised task (LMW-R). Participants’ performances were measured in an immediate condition and, 30 min later, in a delayed condition. Attentional and executive functions were also evaluated.Results Our data show that chronic exposure to elevated levels of cortisol is clinically associated with significant working memory deficits, which included less shot-term memory volume, slow learning rate, memory contamination and no accurate perception of own performance. Patients also show impairment in the delayed recall task. No relation was detected between learning and delayed conditions. CS group did not differ significantly from control group in basic attentional and executive functioning.Conclusions Our clinical profile of memory deficits related to CS relates chronic exposure to hypercortisolemia to impaired attentional-dependent working memory and delayed recall process, suggesting that cortisol levels play a critical role in the modulation of learning and memory. Possible damage to hippocampus and extrahippocampal areas is discussed.
PB Wiley
SN 0300-0664
YR 2009
FD 2009-01-19
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10668/23206
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10668/23206
LA en
NO León-Carrión J, Atutxa AM, Mangas MA, Soto-Moreno A, Pumar A, Leon-Justel A, et al. A clinical profile of memory impairment in humans due to endogenous glucocorticoid excess. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2009 Feb;70(2):192-200.
DS RISalud
RD Apr 14, 2025