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MBBS QUESTION #10291
Question 1
A patient with Cushing's syndrome due to chronic glucocorticoid excess develops which characteristic metabolic and body composition changes?
  • Hypoglycemia with generalized weight loss
  • Hyperglycemia, central (truncal) obesity with peripheral muscle wasting, reflecting cortisol's catabolic effect on peripheral tissue combined with lipogenic effects centrally✔️
  • Hyperkalemia with hyponatremia
  • Isolated hypotension with no metabolic change
Correct Answer Explanation
Excess cortisol promotes peripheral protein catabolism (muscle wasting, thin skin, striae) while paradoxically favoring central fat deposition, and antagonizes insulin action to raise blood glucose — together producing the characteristic central obesity with wasted limbs and hyperglycemia of Cushing's syndrome.