Verbal and Visual Memory Performance and Hippocampal Volumes, Measured by 3-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging, in Patients with Cushing's Syndrome

Context: Cushing's syndrome (CS) affects cognition and memory. Objective: Our objective was to evaluate memory and hippocampal volumes (HV) on 3-tesla magnetic resonance imaging (3T MRI) in CS patients and controls. Patients and Methods: Thirty-three CS patients (11 active, 22 cured) and 34 controls matched for age, sex, and education underwent Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure memory tests. Gray matter and HV were calculated on 3T MRI, using FreeSurfer image analyses software. Results: No differences in HV were observed between active and cured CS or controls. Memory performance was worse in CS patients than controls (P < 0.04 in active; P < 0.03 in cured CS) but did not differ among CS groups, which were therefore analyzed together; they performed worse for verbal (P = 0.02) and visual memory (P = 0.04) than controls. In 12 CS patients, memory was below normative cutoff values for verbal (n = 6, cured), visual memory (n = 10, six cured) or both (n = 4); these patients w...