ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Aminoglutethimide

Okay kiddo, have you ever heard of aminoglutethimide? It's a medicine that doctors sometimes give to people who have a type of cancer called Cushing's syndrome.

Now, inside our bodies, we have these things called hormones. They are like tiny little messengers that tell our body what to do. Sometimes, our body makes too much of a hormone called cortisol. When that happens, it can cause problems like weight gain, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

That's where aminoglutethimide comes in! It works by stopping our body from making too much cortisol. How does it do that? Well, it blocks an enzyme called aromatase. Enzymes are like little tools that our body uses to make things. You can think of aromatase as a tool that helps make cortisol.

By blocking aromatase, aminoglutethimide stops our body from making too much cortisol. That can help people with Cushing's syndrome feel better and reduce their symptoms.

Now, aminoglutethimide isn't a magic pill, and it can have side effects, like making you feel tired or nauseous. That's why doctors only give it to people who really need it, and they monitor them closely to make sure they're safe and healthy.

So that's aminoglutethimide in a nutshell! It's a medicine that helps block an enzyme in our body to stop us from making too much cortisol. It can help people with Cushing's syndrome feel better, but it can also have side effects, so doctors only give it to people who really need it.