Pituitary Disorders

Introduction Your pituitary gland is a small gland at the base of your brain. It makes hormones that affect growth and the functions of other glands in the body. It also regulates the amount of fluids your body retains. There are many disorders that can affect the pituitary gland. With pituitary disorders, you often have too much or too little of one of your hormones. Injuries can cause pituitary disorders. But the most common cause is a pituitary tumor. Problems with the pituitary gland can cause many health problems.

This reference summary explains pituitary disorders. It covers common symptoms of pituitary disorders, as well as treatment options for common disorders.

Anatomy of the Pituitary Gland Glands are organs that make chemicals that the body needs to function normally. The pituitary gland is a small gland at the base of the brain. It makes and stores many different hormones.

The pituitary gland is inside the skull and just above the nasal passages. It is connected to a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. Hormones are substances released into the blood. They help other organs to work normally. The hypothalamus releases hormones into blood vessels that are connected to the pituitary gland. These cause the pituitary gland to make its Pituitary Gland own hormones.

The pituitary gland is also called the master gland. It makes hormones that control other glands and many body functions, including growth. The pituitary consists of the anterior and posterior pituitary.

This document is for informational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for the advice of a doctor or healthcare professional or a recommendation for any particular treatment plan. Like any printed material, it may become out of date over time. It is important that you rely on the advice of a doctor or a healthcare professional for your specific condition.

The anterior pituitary is the front part of the pituitary. It makes hormones that affect: • Growth. • Sexual development. • Skin pigmentation. • Thyroid function.

The posterior pituitary is the back part of the pituitary. It regulates how much fluid the body retains. Many problems can happen if the pituitary gland makes either too much or too little of certain hormones.

Pituitary disorders include: • Hyperpituitarism. • Hypopituitarism. • Pituitary tumors.

Hyperpituitarism Hyperpituitarism is when the pituitary gland overproduces, or makes too much of, a certain hormone.

For example, if the front part of the pituitary gland overproduces, it could cause overgrowth, or gigantism, in children. It can cause a condition called acromegaly in adults. This causes body tissues to get larger over time.

Hyperpituitarism can cause: • Excessive hair growth in women. • Large hands, feet, forehead and face. • Skin discoloration. • Tongue problems.

Other general symptoms of hyperpituitarism include: • Excessive sweating. • Headache. • Hoarseness. • Vision problems.

• Joint pain and muscle weakness. • Milk secretion from the breast. • Irregular or absent periods in women. • Numbness or skin tingling. • Sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes breathing pauses during sleep. Talk to your health care provider if you notice any of these symptoms or other changes. Finding a problem early makes treatment easier in most cases.

Endocrine or hormone function tests can help your health care provider diagnose a pituitary gland disorder. These tests can measure the levels of hormones that the gland makes. Blood and urine tests also can help your health care provider tell if your body makes too much or too little of a certain hormone. Your health care provider may refer you to an endocrinologist for more tests. An endocrinologist is a health care provider who specialized in the endocrine or hormonal system.

The most common cause of hyperpituitarism is a pituitary tumor. These tumors are usually benign, or noncancerous.

Treatment for hyperpituitarism may include: • Medication. • Surgery. • Pituitary radiation. • Gamma knife radiation treatment.

Pituitary radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Gamma rays are a type of high-energy radiation that can be focused on small tumors in the head or neck. The gamma rays are aimed at the tumor from many different angles at once. They deliver a large dose of radiation.

Hypopituitarism Hypopituitarism happens when the pituitary gland does not make enough of a certain hormone. For example, if the anterior pituitary does not work well, it may cause slow growth during childhood. Hypopituitarism can lead to diabetes insipidus when the posterior pituitary gland is affected. This disorder causes the body to make too much urine, which could lead to dehydration. Dehydration means your body does not have enough water and fluids to be healthy.

Hypopituitarism is often progressive. The signs and symptoms can happen suddenly. But they usually develop gradually. They are sometimes subtle and may be overlooked for months or even years.

Signs and symptoms of hypopituitarism vary. They depend on which pituitary hormones are deficient and how severe the deficiency is. Symptoms may include: • Decreased sex drive. • Fatigue. • Sensitivity to cold or difficulty staying warm. • Weight loss. • Anemia. • Decreased appetite. • A puffy face. • Infertility. • Decreased facial or body hair in men. • Hot flashes, irregular or no periods, loss of pubic hair and inability to produce milk for breast-feeding in women. • Shortness in children.

Anemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells in the body is below normal.

Hypopituitarism can be caused by diseases or events that damage the pituitary, such as: • Brain or pituitary tumors. • Brain surgery. • Head injuries. • Radiation treatment.

The pituitary gland may also be damaged by: • Autoimmune inflammation. • Infections of the brain, such as meningitis. • Stroke. • Tuberculosis.

Meningitis is the inflammation of the layers of tissue that cover the brain and spinal cord. It is usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection. A stroke is the loss of blood flow to part of the brain. This damages brain tissue. Strokes are caused by blood clots and broken blood vessels in the brain.

Tuberculosis is a disease caused by a specific type of bacteria. Tuberculosis can affect many parts of the body, but most often affects the lungs.

Other causes of pituitary gland damage include: • Diseases of the hypothalamus. • Genetic mutations. • Severe blood loss during childbirth.

In some cases, the cause of hypopituitarism is unknown. Treating the condition that causes hypopituitarism may help your body's production of pituitary hormones to return to normal. Treatment with the right hormones is often the first treatment. The dosages are set to match the amounts that your body would make if it didn't have a pituitary problem. Treatment may be lifelong.

Pituitary Tumors Almost all pituitary tumors are benign, or noncancerous. They usually don’t spread to other parts of the body. But they can cause health problems because of their location near the brain. They may also make extra hormones. Cancerous pituitary tumors are rare. They can happen at any age. But they are most often found in older people.

Brain imaging can help your health care provider find a pituitary tumor or other problem. Brain imaging tests include computerized tomography, or CT, scans and magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, scans.

The cause of pituitary gland tumors is not known. Although pituitary tumors can happen at any age, they are most likely to happen in older adults. People with a family history of pituitary tumors are at an increased risk.

Treatment for pituitary tumors may include: • Removing the tumor. • Controlling the tumors growth. • Managing your hormone levels with medications.

Your health care provider may recommend watchful waiting, also known as observation. You will need regular follow-up tests to monitor your pituitary disorder. This may be an option if you don’t have any symptoms.

Summary Glands are organs that make chemicals that the body needs to function normally. The pituitary gland is a small gland at the base of the brain. It makes hormones that control other glands and many body functions, including growth.

Hyperpituitarism is when the pituitary gland overproduces, or makes too much of, a certain hormone. Hyperpituitarism can cause: • Excessive hair growth in women. • Large hands, feet, forehead and face. • Skin discoloration. • Tongue problems.

The most common cause of hyperpituitarism is a pituitary tumor. These tumors are usually benign, or noncancerous. Treatment for hyperpituitarism may include: • Medication. • Surgery. • Pituitary radiation. • Gamma knife radiation treatment.

Hypopituitarism happens when the pituitary gland does not make enough of a certain hormone. Hypopituitarism is often progressive. The signs and symptoms can happen suddenly. But they usually develop gradually. They are sometimes subtle and may be overlooked for months or even years.

Treating the condition that causes hypopituitarism may help your body's production of pituitary hormones to return to normal. Treatment with the right hormones is often the first treatment. The dosages are set to match the amounts that your body would make if it didn't have a pituitary problem.

Almost all pituitary tumors are benign, or noncancerous. They usually don’t spread to other parts of the body. But they can cause health problems because of their location near the brain. They also may make extra hormones.

Treatment for pituitary tumors may include: • Removing the tumor. • Controlling the tumors growth. • Managing your hormone levels with medications.