Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Pituitary Function Tests”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Symptomatic hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients following radiation therapy: a retrospective study.

Endocrine assessment was performed in 32 relapse-free southern Chinese patients (21 males and 11 females, aged 27-50 years at the time of assessment) 5-17 years following radiation therapy (RT) alone for early nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Initial screening was done using questionnaires emphasizing on impaired sexual function and menstrual disturbance plus measurement of serum levels of thyroxine, free thyroxine index, thyrotropic hormone, prolactin, and additionally testosterone for males only. Those showing abnormalities were subjected to detailed pituitary function tests. Hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction was found in 7 female patients and only 1 male patient. A delayed TSH response to thyrotropin releasing hormone suggesting a hypothalamic disorder was seen in 6 of the affected female patients, and hyperprolactinaemia in also 6. None of the patients had evidence of diabetes insipidus. Hypopituitarism became symptomatic 2-5 years after RT with a mean latent interval of 3.8 years. A practical protocol for regular endocrine assessment for NPC patients after RT has been proposed. Multiple linear regression analysis of the radiotherapeutic data from the 11 female patients indicates that the likelihood of late occurrence of symptomatic hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction following RT is dependent on the TDF of the target dose to the nasopharyngeal region and the height of the upper margin of the opposed lateral facial fields above the diaphragma sellae (coefficient of multiple correlation = 0.9025). Except when the sphenoid sinus or the middle cranial fossa is involved, it is advisable to set the height of the upper margin of the lateral facial field at a level no higher than the diaphragma sellae. The hypothalamus and possibly the pituitary stalk as well may sustain permanent damage by doses of radiation within the conventional radiotherapeutic range for carcinomas.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Hypopituitarism in normal-pressure hydrocephalus.

Hypothalamic hypopituitarism has been associated with the intermittent intracranial hypertension of "normal-pressure" hydrocephalus. Six patients with this condition were studied endocrinologically; five showed evidence of hypothalamohypophyseal insufficiency, and, though only one needed treatment, all needed continued assessment of their endocrine state during follow-up. Thus, hypothalamohypophyseal dysfunction is more common than might be expected. Tests of anterior pituitary function should be preformed before surgical intervention, as such dysfunction may adversely affect survival and the response to ventricular shunting.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Combined hypophyseal function test in children with homozygous beta-thalassemia].

Nowadays, endocrine problems like retarded sexual maturation and growth deficiency, lead to substantial suffering in patients with beta-thalassemia major. The aim of the present study is the differentiation between a possible insufficiency of the pituitary gland and dependent target organs, respectively. 12 patients (age 1.9-18.10 years) were examined by means of a combined pituitary function test. The corticotropic axis turned out to be normal as shown by a regular stimulation of cortisol in all patients tested. The thyrotropic function was unaffected in all children: elevated levels of TSH pointed to primary hypothyroidism. Pubertal values of LH and FSH were found in only 3 out of 7 patients at pubertal age. In 10 out of 12 children, stimulation led to a rise in STH levels above 10 ng/ml. On the whole, there was no evidence for pituitary insufficiency in beta-thalassemia major.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Intermittent Cushing's disease with spontaneous remission.

A patient with well documented Cushing's syndrome, associated with excessive secretion of ACTH, was studied over a 20 month period. During this time there were three episodes of spontaneous biochemical remission and except for a 7 day period of exacerbation the patient has had normal cortisol production for the last 15 months. During this recent prolonged remission period, repeat pituitary function testing demonstrated persistent abnormalities of the hypothalamic pituitary axis, in that ACTH failed to respond to a hypoglycaemic stimulus. However in all other respects adrenal function was normal with preservation of diurnal rhythmicity of cortisol and ACTH, and intact dexamethasone suppressability of cortisol. The additional unusual features of normal GH and TSH responses to stimulation, during either remission or exacerbation, suggest a subtle and localized hypothalamic defect in this case.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1993

The function of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis in brain dead patients.

In order to find out the function of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis in brain dead patients, pituitary and hypothalamic hormone concentrations were measured and several anterior pituitary releasing tests were carried out in 39 brain dead patients. In addition, cerebral blood flow measurements were simultaneously performed. In almost all cases, the blood concentration of pituitary and hypothalamic hormones were above the sensitivity of the assay. Anterior pituitary releasing tests indicated that efficient functions of the hypothalamus were severely suppressed, while the normal secretory mechanism of the anterior pituitary was partially preserved in brain dead patients. Histological changes of hypothalamic neurons varied from barely detectable ghost cells to nearly normal cells even in the same case. Although, the remaining circulation seemed not to be sufficient enough to maintain integrated hypothalamo-pituitary function, as shown by the examinations of cerebral blood flow, the presence of hypothalamic hormones in the systemic circulation suggests that these hormones were released and carried from the hypothalamus by minimal flow which is preserved even after the diagnosis of brain death.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Pituitary function after treatment of intracranial tumours in children.

Pituitary-function tests have been done in twenty-seven patients at various times after treatment in childhood for intracranial tumours not directly involving the hypothalamic-pituitary region. Impaired growth hormone (G.H.) responses to hypoglycaemia and 'Bovril' were found in ten children. There seeems to be progressive impairment in G.H. production with time after treatment. During the first 3 months after neurosurgery no child was found to be G.H. deficient, but the peak G.H. response of this group seemed to be blunted when compared with a control group of children who had been treated for abdominal tumours. The rest of anterior-pituitary function in G.H.-deficient children seems quite normal except for a significantly greater basal thyroid-stimulating hormone (T.S.H.) level and T;S.H. response after thyrotrophin-releasing hormone. Two girls have developed secondary amenorrhoea, and one is G.H. deficient.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Pituitary function in patients with enlarged sella turcica and primary empty sella syndrome.

The pituitary function in 20 patients with primary empty sella syndrome has been evaluated. The only endocrine symptom was secondary amenorrhoea in four patients. In half of the patients, pituitary function tests showed minor abnormalities, the most common being impaired growth hormone response to glucagon. In addition to the empty sella, other intracranial abnormalities such as pituitary tumour and hydrocephalus were found in four patients. Although commonly a benign condition, the empty sella may occasionally be associated with clinically important endocrine dysfunction, pituitary tumours and other intracranial abnormalities.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Effect of dopamine agonist withdrawal after long-term therapy in prolactinomas. Studies with high-definition computerised tomography.

The clinical, radiological, and biochemical effects of dopamine agonist withdrawal after long-term treatment were investigated in seven women and eight men who had been treated for prolactinomas for 1.5 to 7 (mean 3.7) years. Before treatment, serum prolactin concentrations were 1473 to 115 000 mU/l, all patients had abnormal radiological findings, and six had suprasellar extensions of pituitary tumours. Treatment with either bromocriptine or pergolide relieved symptoms and suppressed prolactin secretion in most patients. The size of the residual tumour was defined by doing fourth generation computerised tomographic scans immediately before termination of therapy, and evidence of tumour re-expansion was sought on scans repeated 5-39 weeks later. After discontinuation of treatment, symptoms recurred in 13 of 15 patients and hyper-prolactinaemia redeveloped in 14. Other pituitary function tests remained unchanged or improved. In 13 of 15 patients tumour or gland size did not change after withdrawal of treatment. One man had a marginal increase in tumour size, while in another the pituitary tumour shrank. Thus, although cessation of long-term dopamine agonist therapy leads to recurrence of symptoms and hyperprolactinaemia, rapid tumour regrowth is uncommon and of small extent, and other pituitary function is not altered in the short term.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

[Posttraumatic hypopituitarism].

A 39-year-old woman was admitted with complaints of weight gain, a decreased sense of well-being and amenorrhoea. One and a half year prior to admission she had been involved in a serious road accident and had spent several days in coma due to an epidural haematoma. She was found to have hypopituitarism with deficient somatotropic and gonadotropic axes, as well as mild hyperprolactinaemia, probably due to a pituitary stalk lesion. All patients with severe trauma to the skull are at risk of developing posttraumatic hypopituitarism, so that pituitary function testing should be performed routinely, certainly in the presence of symptoms.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1976

Pituitary tumors in patients with secondary amenorrhea.

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of radiologically detectable pituitary tumors among patients seen initially in a gynecology clinic for a complaint of secondary amenorrhea. In a group of 144 women with secondary amenorrhea of more than 6 months' duration, 13 had radiologic abnormalities of the sella turcica detectable with standard skull films without tomography. These gynecologic patients composed more than half of the women in the reproductive age group who were diagnosed at this medical center as having a pituitary tumor. Only one patient with oligomenorrhea or secondary amenorrhea of less than 2 years' duration had a detectable tumor. Thus, for patients with short-term amenorrhea, the risk of having a pituitary tumor is small, especially in the absence of galactorrhea, headache, or changes in vision. However, 12 of 71 patients with amenorrhea longer than 2 years (17%) had detectable tumors and the risk appears to increase progressively with time. Assay of adrenal and thyroid hormones did not discriminate between patients with and without pituitary tumors. Early detection of these tumors is aided by serial sella x-rays, tomograms, prolactin assays, and newer pituitary function tests. Patients presenting with postpill amenorrhea and postpartum amenorrhea illustrate the hazard of interpreting a temporal relationship as a causal one.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

[A case of pituitary mass suggestive of lymphocytic adenohypophysitis].

A 29-year-old woman suffered from frontalgia with vomiting and visual field defects in the 9th month of pregnancy. Two weeks after delivery, a pituitary mass with suprasellar extension was demonstrated on computed tomography (CT). Angiogram revealed elevation of bilateral A1 segments and right persistent primitive trigeminal artery. Repeated CT performed three months after delivery showed that the pituitary mass had undergone a spontaneous regression in size, and her visual impairment improved. The pituitary function tests revealed no response to ACTH, GH and PRL stimulation performed about a year after delivery. Laboratory data showed high titer of antinuclear antibody and low titer of complement. This case suggests that some patients with postpartum hypopituitarism suggestive of lymphocytic adenohypophysitis, and with pituitary mass need not have early surgical intervention but may be closely observed and treated by hormone replacement alone.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Absence of significant endocrine deficiencies in benign intracranial hypertension.

Hypothalamic-pituitary function tests have been carried out in young, obese females with both recently diagnosed and longstanding benign intracranial hypertension. No abnormalities have been found which could be implicated in the pathogenesis of the condition, nor have we been able to demonstrate any convincing evidence of long-term hypothalamic pituitary damage. The results of these investigations can be difficult to interpret and invalid conclusions may be drawn if all factors involved are not carefully considered.

Adolescent↗