Metyrapone in Cushing’s syndrome: a profile of its use

Declarations

Funding The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

Authorship and conflicts of interest Z. T. Al-Salama is a salaried employee of Adis International Limited/Springer Nature and an editor of Drugs & Therapy Perspectives. She was not involved in any publishing decisions for this manuscript and declares no relevant conflicts of interest. All authors contributed to the review and are responsible for the article content.

Ethics approval, Consent to participate, Consent for publication, Availability of data and material, Code availability Not applicable.

Additional information about this Adis Drug Review can be found here.

Abstract

Metyrapone (Metopirone^®), a pyridine derivative, is a useful treatment option for the management of patients with endogenous Cushing’s syndrome, based on evidence from more than six decades of its use in clinical practice, prospective and retrospective studies, as well as case reports. Metyrapone is associated with a rapid onset of action and is effective in reducing cortisol levels and improving clinical and/or biochemical features and cortisol-related comorbidities of Cushing’s syndrome. The efficacy of metyrapone was demonstrated in all aetiologies of the condition, when used in a range of clinical settings (including presurgery treatment and when used in combination with other drugs) and in the short and long term. Metyrapone is generally well tolerated when used in the treatment of patients with endogenous Cushing’s syndrome, with gastrointestinal adverse events being the most commonly reported.

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