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Pituitary Gland

Pituitary Gland Treatment in Kolhapur

Panhypopituitarism Pituitary Adenoma Acromegaly Cushing Syndrome

What is the pituitary gland?

The pituitary gland is a small organ found at the base of the brain. It is called the "master gland" because it controls all of the other glands in the body.

The pituitary gland makes many different hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers that turn on and off different processes in the body. Here is a list of some of the hormones made by the pituitary gland and an explanation of what those hormones do:

  • Corticotropin (also called "ACTH") – Corticotropin tells the adrenal glands to release a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol helps control how the body uses sugar
  • Thyroid-stimulating hormone (called "TSH") – TSH tells the thyroid gland to release hormones called "T3" and "T4." These hormones control how the body uses and stores energy.
  • Gonadotropins – In females, gonadotropins tell the ovaries to release the hormones estrogen and progesterone. They also tell the ovaries to prepare and release eggs. In males, these hormones tell the testicles to make testosterone and sperm.
  • Growth hormone – Growth hormone helps children grow to a normal height. In adults, it helps keep the right balance of fat and muscle in the body.
  • Prolactin – Prolactin helps control the development of breasts. It also tells the breasts to make milk after giving birth.

What is panhypopituitarism?

Panhypopituitarism is the medical term for when the pituitary gland does not make enough of the hormones it is supposed to make. This can happen when the pituitary gland is damaged or when there is a problem higher in the brain (in the part called the "hypothalamus"). The pituitary gland can be damaged by abnormal growths that sometimes form on the gland. Or it can be damaged by the treatment used to control those abnormal growths, such as surgery or radiation. Some people are born without 1 or more of the pituitary hormones.

When the pituitary gland does not make enough of its hormones, the other glands that the pituitary gland controls also do not make enough of the hormones they are supposed to make. This can cause serious problems.

What are the symptoms of panhypopituitarism?

The symptoms are different, depending on which hormones are most affected by the disorder. In general, the symptoms can include:

  • Feeling tired
  • Losing weight
  • Being bothered by the cold
  • Decreased appetite
  • Having less interest in sex
  • Having trouble getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant (called infertility)

In Females:

  • Irregular or missed periods
  • Loss of pubic hair
  • Being unable to make milk for breastfeeding

In Males:

  • Decreased facial or body hair
  • Testicles that have shrunk

In Children:

  • Being shorter than other children of the same age
  • No signs of puberty by age 12 in girls and age 14 in boys

Will I need tests?

Yes, if your doctor suspects you have panhypopituitarism, you will need blood tests to check for different hormone levels. You might also need an imaging test, such as an MRI. These tests create pictures of the inside of your body. They can show if there is something pressing on or damaging your pituitary gland.

How is panhypopituitarism treated?

Treatment usually involves taking hormone medicines to replace the hormones that the body is missing. People who are treated for panhypopituitarism usually must take these medicines for the rest of their life. They also need to have regular blood tests to check their hormone levels.

People who have a tumor or growth on their pituitary gland might also need surgery or other treatments (such as radiation therapy) to remove or destroy the tumor or growth.

What if I want to have children?

If you want to try to get pregnant, or get a partner pregnant, tell your doctor. Parts of your treatment might need to be different while you are trying to have a baby. For example, you might need to get treated with certain hormones that make it possible to get pregnant or get a partner pregnant. With the right treatment, most people with panhypopituitarism can have children.

What is a pituitary adenoma?

A pituitary adenoma is an abnormal growth in the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is l ocated at the base of the brain. The pituitary gland has different cells in it that make different types of hormones. There are different types of pituitary adenomas, depending on which cells are involved.

Pituitary adenomas can cause problems in different ways:

  • They can make too much of a certain hormone.
  • They can press on nearby tissues in the head, such as the nerves that go from the eye to the brain. This can cause vision problems.
  • They can press on other cells in the pituitary gland and keep those cells from making enough hormones.

What are the symptoms of a pituitary adenoma?

Symptoms depend on the type of pituitary adenoma you have and how big it is

Some pituitary adenomas, especially small ones, cause no symptoms. People find out they have it after their doctor does an imaging test of their brain for another reason. Imaging tests create pictures of the inside of the body

When a pituitary adenoma does cause symptoms, they can be from having abnormally high or low levels of hormones in the body. Depending on the hormone involved,
symptoms can include:

  • Absent or irregular monthly periods, and a milky discharge from the breasts
  • Low sex drive or trouble getting an erection
  • A condition called "acromegaly" – This is when some parts of the body (especially the hands, feet, and jaw) grow bigger than normal. This usually happens over a long time.
  • A condition called "Cushing syndrome" – This condition can cause medical problems such as weight gain, high blood pressure, thin bones, and weak muscles.
  • A condition called "hyperthyroidism" – This can make people feel shaky, nervous, or tired.
  • A condition called "gigantism" (in children) – This condition causes children to grow very fast and taller than other children their age. Children with this condition sometimes have large heads.

Symptoms related to the pituitary adenoma's size can also happen if it grows big or presses on nearby tissues.

These symptoms can include:

  • Vision changes
  • Headaches

Will I need tests?

Yes. Tests for a pituitary adenoma include:

  • Hormone tests - Your doctor will do blood and possibly urine or saliva tests to measure the levels of different hormones in your body.
  • An imaging test - called an MRI scan, of your brain
  • Vision tests - Your doctor might order tests to check your vision. One test you might have is called "visual field testing."

How is a pituitary adenoma treated?

A pituitary adenoma that is found by chance and causes no symptoms does not usually need treatment. But the doctor will monitor the growth over time by doing regular followup tests

A large pituitary adenoma or a pituitary adenoma that causes symptoms usually needs treatment. Treatment depends on the type of pituitary adenoma you have, how big it is, and your symptoms.

The different treatments can include:

  • Medicines : Medicines are used to treat some types of pituitary adenomas. The medicines can shrink the growths and lower the amount of hormones they make. But medicines do not work for all types of pituitary adenomas.
  • Surgery : Many pituitary adenomas are treated with surgery. During surgery, the doctor makes a small cut in the back of the nose and then uses a special tool to take out the growth.
  • Radiation : Radiation uses high doses of X-rays to destroy or shrink the growth. Doctors usually use radiation after surgery to keep a pituitary adenoma from growing back.

After treatment, your doctor might do regular follow-up tests to monitor your pituitary adenoma and make sure that it doesn't grow back. Some people also need long-term hormone treatment to correct the hormone levels in their body.

What if I want to get pregnant?

If you want to get pregnant, talk with your doctor. Your doctor might want to treat your pituitary adenoma before you start trying to get pregnant. Plus, if you take medicines for your pituitary adenoma, your doctor will check that the medicines are safe to take during pregnancy.

What is acromegaly?

Acromegaly is a disease that makes some parts of the body grow bigger than normal. This happens over a long period of time, often years.

Acromegaly is usually caused by a non-cancerous tumor in the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is located at the base of the brain. It makes many hormones, including "growth hormone," which the body needs to grow. A tumor in the pituitary gland can cause it to release too much growth hormone.

What are the symptoms of acromegaly?

The main symptoms involve too much growth in some parts of the body, such as:

  • Face and head : The nose, lips, ears, and forehead get larger. The tongue and lower jaw also grow, and the spaces between the teeth get wider.
  • Throat : The tissue inside the throat and around the voice box can grow bigger than normal. This can cause deepening of the voice or trouble breathing during sleep.
  • Hands and feet : The hands and feet become bigger and swollen. People with acromegaly usually notice that their rings and shoes become tighter. Some people develop "carpal tunnel syndrome," which is a condition that causes pain or tingling in the hands and fingers
  • Skin : Skin might become thicker. Some people also get small growths of extra skin, called "skin tags."
  • Bones : The ends of the bones can grow too much. This can damage the cartilage (the rubbery material that keeps bones from scraping against each other), and eventually lead to arthritis.
  • Tumors : People with acromegaly have a higher risk of getting non-cancerous tumors. These can include fibroids (growths in the uterus) and colon polyps (small growths in the intestine).
  • Heart : The heart muscle can grow bigger than normal, which can make it hard for the heart to work well. People with acromegaly are also more likely to have high blood pressure.

If a tumor on the pituitary gland gets too big, it can press on the nerves that lead to the eyes. This sometimes causes vision problems.

Acromegaly also increases the chances that a person will get diabetes.

Is there a test for acromegaly?

Yes. Usually, a doctor suspects acromegaly based on a person's appearance. They can do a blood test to check if there is too much growth hormone in their blood.

If a blood test shows that the person has too much growth hormone, the doctor will order an MRI. An MRI is an imaging test that creates pictures of the inside of the body. It can show if there is a tumor in the pituitary gland

How is acromegaly treated?

Treatments include:

Surgery :

In most cases, doctors do surgery to try to remove the tumor in the pituitary gland. An experienced surgeon makes a small cut in the nose and uses a special tool to take the tumor out. If the surgeon can completely remove it, the amount of growth hormone in the body will return to normal within hours. Some symptoms take a few months to get better

Medicines :

Some people with acromegaly need to take medicines. You might need medicine if you have a pituitary tumor that is too big for doctors to remove completely with surgery. There are 3 kinds of medicine doctors use to treat acromegaly

  • Injections (shots) that stop the tumor from releasing hormones These medicines are called "somatostatin analogs." Your doctor will probably give you a shot about once a month.
  • Medicine that blocks the effects of growth hormone - This medicine is called pegvisomant. To take it, you give yourself a shot once a day.
  • Pills that stop the tumor from releasing hormones - These are called "dopamine agonists." They usually don't work as well as somatostatin analogs that you get by injection. But they might be easier to take.
  • Radiation - Sometimes, doctors treat pituitary tumors with radiation. Radiation uses high doses of X-rays to destroy the tumor.

All of these treatments can have side effects. Your doctor can talk to you about which treatments are best for you.

What if I want to get pregnant?

Many people with acromegaly are able to have normal pregnancies. Before trying to get pregnant, ask your doctors about which medicines are safe to take during pregnancy. You will also need to see your endocrinologist (the doctor who treats your acromegaly) regularly while you are pregnant.

What will my life be like?

Doctors can successfully treat most people with acromegaly. You will need to see your doctor regularly to make sure that your treatments are working, and make changes if needed.

What is Cushing Syndrome?

Cushing syndrome is a condition that can cause lots of different medical problems. These can include high blood pressure, weight gain, muscle weakness, and thin skin.

Cushing syndrome happens when a person has too much of a hormone called "cortisol" in their body. Cortisol helps the body to work normally. But when people have too much cortisol, they can get symptoms.

Cortisol is made in the adrenal glands, which are small organs located on top of each kidney. Normally, the adrenal glands make cortisol after they receive signals from the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is a small organ located just below the brain.

What are the causes of Cushing syndrome?

Cushing syndrome can be caused by :

  • Taking steroid medicines - Steroids are medicines that act like cortisol in the body. People might take high doses of these medicines for asthma or some types of arthritis.
  • Abnormal growths in the pituitary gland or other parts of the body - These can signal the adrenal glands to make too much cortisol.
  • Problems in the adrenal glands that cause them to make too much cortisol.

What are the symptoms of Cushing syndrome?

People with Cushing syndrome can have 1 or more of the following symptoms :

  • Weight gain in the face, neck, back, or belly
  • Thin skin that bruises easily or has wide "stretch marks"
  • Missed or irregular monthly periods (in females)
  • Increased facial hair growth (in females)
  • Oily skin or acne
  • Weak muscles in the upper arms or legs. For example, it might be hard to get out of a chair
  • Bones that can break more easily than normal
  • Diabetes (high blood sugar levels)
  • High blood pressure and heart problems
  • Changes in mood, such as feeling depressed, worried, or angry
  • Problems with learning, attention, or memory
  • Getting infections more easily
  • Blood clots in the veins in the legs

Different people can have different symptoms. If symptoms are not treated, they can get worse over time and become life-threatening.

Is there a test for Cushing Syndrome?

Yes. Your doctor will talk with you and do an exam. They will also do lab tests to measure the cortisol levels in your urine, blood, or saliva. If your cortisol levels are high, you will need more tests to figure out which treatment is right for you. These tests can include:

Blood tests

CT or MRI scans of your pituitary gland or adrenal glands, or other imaging tests - Imaging tests can create pictures of the inside of the body.

How is Cushing syndrome treated?

Treatment for Cushing syndrome depends on the cause. If you have symptoms because you take high doses of steroids, your doctor will slowly reduce your dose.
If you do not take steroids, treatment might include:

  • Surgery - Doctors can do different types of surgery to remove Abnormal growths in the pituitary gland or other parts of the body One or both of the adrenal glands
  • Radiation therapy - Radiation can kill cells that are growing abnormally
  • Medicines - Different medicines can stop the adrenal glands from making too much cortisol

What if I want to get pregnant?

Cushing syndrome can make it hard to get pregnant. This is because the extra cortisol often causes "infertility." This means trouble getting pregnant. If you want to try to get pregnant, tell your doctor. They can work with you to make a treatment plan.

If you have symptoms of Cushing syndrome and do get pregnant, talk with your doctor. Pregnant people with Cushing syndrome need treatment. Without treatment, Cushing syndrome can lead to problems like high blood pressure and diabetes during pregnancy.

What will my life be like?

Many people with Cushing syndrome can be cured with treatment. But some people will need to take medicine for the rest of their lives to stay healthy

While most symptoms get better with treatment, some might not go away completely. If you had trouble with attention or memory, you might still have these problems. Talk to your doctor if you are worried about any of your symptoms or having a hard time coping

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