A round face with abdominal striae and a dorsocervical fat pad suggests which condition?

• A. Addison's disease
• B. Hyperthyroidism
• C. Cushing syndrome
• D. Acromegaly

Answer: (C)

Signs like a round face (moon facies), abdominal stretch marks, and a dorsocervical fat pad reflect cortisol excess that redistributes fat and weakens skin. In Cushing syndrome, this combination is classic: cortisol drives fat to the face and trunk, makes the skin fragile leading to wide, violaceous striae, and produces a buffalo hump.

Other conditions don’t typically present with this pattern. Addison’s disease involves cortisol deficiency with fatigue, hypotension, and hyperpigmentation rather than moon facies and striae. Hyperthyroidism tends to cause weight loss and tremor rather than rounded facial fullness and characteristic striae. Acromegaly causes enlarged hands and facial bones, jaw protrusion, and soft-tissue thickening, not the abdominal striae and dorsocervical fat pad seen here.

So, these findings point to Cushing syndrome.