Part 1. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation of the body, brain, and inflammation -- 1. Glucocorticoid regulation of body composition and metabolism -- 2. Glucocorticoid regulation of neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric function -- 3. Glucocorticoids: Inflammation and Immunity -- Part 2. Cushing’s Syndrome -- 4. Pathogenesis, diagnosis and localization of Cushing’s: Molecular pathogenesis of primary adrenal Cushing’s syndrome -- . 5. Pathogenesis, diagnosis and localization of Cushing’s -- 5. Pathogenesis, diagnosis and localization of Cushing’s: Pathogenesis and treatment of aggressive corticotroph pituitary tumors - Yang Shen and Anthony P Heaney -- 6. Pathogenesis, diagnosis and localization of Cushing’s: Neoplastic/Pathologic and Non-neoplastic/Physiologic Hypercortisolism: Cushing verses Pseudo-Cushing Syndromes -- 7. Pathogenesis, diagnosis and localization of Cushing’s: Imaging strategies for localization of ACTH - secreting tumors -- 8. Recent Advances in the medical and surgical treatment of Cushing’s: Surgical Treatment of Cushing’s disease -- 9. Recent Advances in the medical and surgical treatment of Cushing’s: Medical therapies in Cushing’s syndrome -- 10. New themes in Cushing’s definitions and outcomes: Mild adrenal cortisol excess – 11. New themes in Cushing’s definitions and outcomes: Long term effects of prior Cushing’s syndrome -- 12. New themes in Cushing’s definitions and outcomes: Cushing’s disease: refining the definition of remission and recurrence -- Part 3. Beyond Cushing’s: Glucocorticoid sensitivity, regulation and the metabolic syndrome -- 13. Primary Generalized Glucocorticoid Resistance or Chrousos Syndrome: Allostasis through a Mutated Glucocorticoid Receptor -- 14. Cortisol metabolism as a regulator of the tissue-specific glucocorticoid action -- 15. Obesity and metabolic syndrome: a phenotype of mild long-term hypercortisolism.

Cushing´s syndrome is a rare disorder that is associated with many co-morbidities such as systemic hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, impaired immune function, and psychiatric disease, all of which severely reduce quality of life and life expectancy. This book reviews the role of cortisol in the human body, focusing on the effects of excess cortisol due to Cushing’s syndrome as well as the role of the HPA axis in metabolism, inflammation, and neuropsychiatric function. The volume will cover basic mechanistic data, clinical outcomes data, and novel therapies. Also discussed are everything from abnormalities of the HPA axis, to the role of the HPA axis in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders and metabolic disorders, to new definitions of Cushing’s remission and recurrence. The Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis in Health and Disease will provide a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary review of the pathophysiology and outcomes of excess cortisol in the human body and brain as well as the role of the HPA axis in other disease states.