[Use of the "extended" minor dexamethasone test in Itsenko-Cushing disease].

An increase in the number of diagnostic parameters (in addition to the determination of the urine level of 17-OCS, a study was also made of the level of 17-KS, blood concentrations of ACTH, prolactin, cortisol, and glucose before and after dexamethasone administration at a dose of 0.5 mg every 6 h for 2 days) and strict rules to be observed by examinees prepared for test performance made in possible to raise the differential-diagnostic role of Liddle's minor dexamethasone test. This conclusion was based on the examination of 34 persons without obesity, 25 patients with exogenous constitutional obesity, 75 patients with juvenile pubertal dyspituitarism, 107 patients with hypothalamic obesity, 8 patients with Cushing's syndrome determined by adrenal corticosteroma, one patient with ACTH-ectopic syndrome, and patients with Itsenko-Cushing disease (128 untreated patients, 99 patients with recurrence, 98 patients in remission). The comparison of clinico-instrumental results with the results of the test has shown its informative value for objective assessment of the gravity of disease. Stages of body responses to small doses of dexamethasone (the stage of lost responses, the stage of incomplete loss and the stage of recovered responses) were identified contributing to objective assessment of the gravity, course, presence, recurrence and remission of Itsenko-Cushing disease.