Congenital hypopituitarism (CH) is characterized by the presence of deficiencies in one or more of the 6 anterior pituitary (AP) hormones secreted from the 5 different specialized cell types of the ...AP. During human embryogenesis, hypothalamo-pituitary (HP) development is controlled by a complex spatio-temporal genetic cascade of transcription factors and signaling molecules within the hypothalamus and Rathke's pouch, the primordium of the AP.
This mini-review discusses the genes and pathways involved in HP development and how mutations of these give rise to CH. This may present in the neonatal period or later on in childhood and may be associated with craniofacial midline structural abnormalities such as cleft lip/palate, visual impairment due to eye abnormalities such as optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH) and microphthalmia or anophthalmia, or midline forebrain neuroradiological defects including agenesis of the septum pellucidum or corpus callosum or the more severe holoprosencephaly.
Mutations give rise to an array of highly variable disorders ranging in severity. There are many known causative genes in HP developmental pathways that are routinely screened in CH patients; however, over the last 5 years this list has rapidly increased due to the identification of variants in new genes and pathways of interest by next-generation sequencing.
The majority of patients with these disorders do not have an identified molecular basis, often making management challenging. This mini-review aims to guide clinicians in making a genetic diagnosis based on patient phenotype, which in turn may impact on clinical management.
IMPORTANCE: Pituitary adenomas are neoplasms of the pituitary adenohypophyseal cell lineage and include functioning tumors, characterized by the secretion of pituitary hormones, and nonfunctioning ...tumors. Clinically evident pituitary adenomas occur in approximately 1 in 1100 persons. OBSERVATIONS: Pituitary adenomas are classified as either macroadenomas (≥10 mm) (48% of tumors) or microadenomas (<10 mm). Macroadenomas may cause mass effect, such as visual field defects, headache, and/or hypopituitarism, which occur in about 18% to 78%, 17% to 75%, and 34% to 89% of patients, respectively. Thirty percent of pituitary adenomas are nonfunctioning adenomas, which do not produce hormones. Functioning tumors are those that produce an excess of normally produced hormones and include prolactinomas, somatotropinomas, corticotropinomas, and thyrotropinomas, which produce prolactin, growth hormone, corticotropin, and thyrotropin, respectively. Approximately 53% of pituitary adenomas are prolactinomas, which can cause hypogonadism, infertility, and/or galactorrhea. Twelve percent are somatotropinomas, which cause acromegaly in adults and gigantism in children, and 4% are corticotropinomas, which secrete corticotropin autonomously, resulting in hypercortisolemia and Cushing disease. All patients with pituitary tumors require endocrine evaluation for hormone hypersecretion. Patients with macroadenomas additionally require evaluation for hypopituitarism, and patients with tumors compressing the optic chiasm should be referred to an ophthalmologist for formal visual field testing. For those requiring treatment, first-line therapy is usually transsphenoidal pituitary surgery, except for prolactinomas, for which medical therapy, either bromocriptine or cabergoline, is usually first line. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Clinically manifest pituitary adenomas affect approximately 1 in 1100 people and can be complicated by syndromes of hormone excess as well as visual field defects and hypopituitarism from mass effect in larger tumors. First-line therapy for prolactinomas consists of bromocriptine or cabergoline, and transsphenoidal pituitary surgery is first-line therapy for other pituitary adenomas requiring treatment.
Hypopituitarism Higham, Claire E, DPhil; Johannsson, Gudmundur, Prof; Shalet, Stephen M, Prof
The Lancet (British edition),
11/2016, Letnik:
388, Številka:
10058
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Summary Hypopituitarism refers to deficiency of one or more hormones produced by the anterior pituitary or released from the posterior pituitary. Hypopituitarism is associated with excess mortality, ...a key risk factor being cortisol deficiency due to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) deficiency. Onset can be acute or insidious, and the most common cause in adulthood is a pituitary adenoma, or treatment with pituitary surgery or radiotherapy. Hypopituitarism is diagnosed based on baseline blood sampling for thyroid stimulating hormone, gonadotropin, and prolactin deficiencies, whereas for ACTH, growth hormone, and antidiuretic hormone deficiency dynamic stimulation tests are usually needed. Repeated pituitary function assessment at regular intervals is needed for diagnosis of the predictable but slowly evolving forms of hypopituitarism. Replacement treatment exists in the form of thyroxine, hydrocortisone, sex steroids, growth hormone, and desmopressin. If onset is acute, cortisol deficiency should be replaced first. Modifications in replacement treatment are needed during the transition from paediatric to adult endocrine care, and during pregnancy.
Abstract
Context
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents a global health emergency, and infected patients with chronic diseases often present with a severe impairment. Adrenal insufficiency ...(AI) is supposed to be associated with an increased infection risk, which could trigger an adrenal crisis.
Objective
Our primary aim was to evaluate the incidence of COVID-19 symptoms and complications in AI patients.
Design and Setting
We conducted a retrospective case-control study. All patients were on active follow-up and lived in Lombardy, Italy, one of the most affected areas.
Patients
We enrolled 279 patients with primary and secondary AI and 112 controls (patients with benign pituitary lesions without hormonal alterations). All AI patients had been previously trained to modify their replacement therapy on stress doses.
Intervention
By administering a standardized questionnaire by phone, we collected data on COVID-19 suggestive symptoms and consequences.
Results
In February through April 2020, the prevalence of symptomatic patients (complaining at least 1 symptom of viral infection) was similar between the 2 groups (24% in AI and 22.3% in controls, P = 0.79). Highly suggestive COVID-19 symptoms (at least 2 including fever and/or cough) also occurred equally in AI and controls (12.5% in both groups). No patient required hospitalization and no adrenal crisis was reported. Few nasopharyngeal swabs were performed (n = 12), as indicated by sanitary regulations, limiting conclusions on the exact infection rate (2 positive results in AI and none in controls, P = 0.52).
Conclusions
AI patients who are adequately treated and trained seem to display the same incidence of COVID-19-suggestive symptoms and disease severity as controls.
Purpose
Non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) are benign pituitary neoplasms that do not cause a hormonal hypersecretory syndrome. An improved understanding of their epidemiology, clinical ...presentation and diagnosis is needed.
Method
A literature review was performed using Pubmed to identify research reports and clinical case series on NFPAs.
Results
They account for 14–54% of pituitary adenomas and have a prevalence of 7–41.3/100,000 population. Their standardized incidence rate is 0.65–2.34/100,000 and the peak occurence is from the fourth to the eighth decade. The clinical spectrum of NFPAs varies from being completely asymptomatic to causing significant hypothalamic/pituitary dysfunction and visual field compromise due to their large size. Most patients present with symptoms of mass effect, such as headaches, visual field defects, ophthalmoplegias, and hypopituitarism but also hyperprolactinaemia due to pituitary stalk deviation and less frequently pituitary apoplexy. Non-functioning pituitary incidentalomas are found on brain imaging performed for an unrelated reason. Diagnostic approach includes magnetic resonance imaging of the sellar region, laboratory evaluations, screening for hormone hypersecretion and for hypopituitarism, and a visual field examination if the lesion abuts the optic nerves or chiasm.
Conclusion
This article reviews the epidemiology, clinical behaviour and diagnostic approach of non-functioning pituitary adenomas.
Context New therapeutic strategies have developed for the management of acromegaly over recent decades. Whether this has improved mortality has not been fully elucidated. Objective The primary aim ...was to investigate mortality in a nationwide unselected cohort of patients with acromegaly. Secondary analyses included time trends in mortality and treatment patterns. Design A total of 1089 patients with acromegaly were identified in Swedish National Health Registries between 1987 and 2013. To analyse time trends, the cohort was divided into three periods (1987–1995, 1996–2004 and 2005–2013) based on the year of diagnosis. Main outcome measures Using the Swedish population as reference, standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Overall SMR was 2.79 (95% CI: 2.43–3.15) with 232 observed and 83 expected deaths. Mortality was mainly related to circulatory diseases (SMR: 2.95, 95% CI: 2.35–3.55), including ischemic heart disease (2.00, 1.35–2.66) and cerebrovascular disease (3.99, 2.42–5.55) and malignancy (1.76, 1.27–2.26). Mortality decreased over time, with an SMR of 3.45 (2.87–4.02) and 1.86 (1.04–2.67) during the first and last time period, respectively (P = .015). During the same time periods, the frequency of pituitary surgery increased from 58% to 72% (P < 0.001) and the prevalence of hypopituitarism decreased from 41% to 23% (P < 0.001). Conclusions Excess mortality was found in this nationwide cohort of patients with acromegaly, mainly related to circulatory and malignant diseases. Although still high, mortality significantly declined over time. This could be explained by the more frequent use of pituitary surgery, decreased prevalence of hypopituitarism and the availability of new medical treatment options.
Growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD) in children is defined as impaired production of GH by the pituitary gland that results in growth failure. This disease might be congenital or acquired, and ...occurs in isolation or in the setting of multiple pituitary hormone deficiency. Isolated GHD has an estimated prevalence of 1 patient per 4000-10,000 live births and can be due to multiple causes, some of which are yet to be determined. Establishing the correct diagnosis remains key in children with short stature, as initiating treatment with recombinant human GH can help them attain their genetically determined adult height. During the past two decades, our understanding of the benefits of continuing GH therapy throughout the transition period from childhood to adulthood has increased. Improvements in transitional care will help alleviate the consequent physical and psychological problems that can arise from adult GHD, although the consequences of a lack of hormone replacement are less severe in adults than in children. In this Review, we discuss the differential diagnosis in children with GHD, including details of clinical presentation, neuroimaging and genetic testing. Furthermore, we highlight advances and issues in the management of GHD, including details of transitional care.
To estimate the prevalence of and risk factors for growth hormone deficiency (GHD), luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone deficiencies (LH/FSHD), thyroid-stimulatin hormone deficiency ...(TSHD), and adrenocorticotropic hormone deficiency (ACTHD) after cranial radiotherapy (CRT) in childhood cancer survivors (CCS) and assess the impact of untreated deficiencies.
Retrospective study in an established cohort of CCS with 748 participants treated with CRT (394 men; mean age, 34.2 years range, 19.4 to 59.6 years observed for a mean of 27.3 years range, 10.8 to 47.7 years). Multivariable logistic regression was used to study associations between demographic and treatment-related risk factors and pituitary deficiencies, as well as associations between untreated deficiencies and cardiovascular health, bone mineral density (BMD), and physical fitness.
The estimated point prevalence was 46.5% for GHD, 10.8% for LH/FSHD, 7.5% for TSHD, and 4% for ACTHD, and the cumulative incidence increased with follow-up. GHD and LH/FSHD were not treated in 99.7% and 78.5% of affected individuals, respectively. Male sex and obesity were significantly associated with LH/FSHD; white race was significant associated with LH/FSHD and TSHD. Compared with CRT doses less than 22 Gy, doses of 22 to 29.9 Gy were significantly associated with GHD; doses ≥ 22 Gy were associated with LH/FSHD; and doses ≥ 30 Gy were associated with TSHD and ACTHD. Untreated GHD was significantly associated with decreased muscle mass and exercise tolerance; untreated LH/FSHD was associated with hypertension, dyslipidemia, low BMD, and slow walking; and both deficits, independently, were associated with with abdominal obesity, low energy expenditure, and muscle weakness.
Anterior pituitary deficits are common after CRT. Continued development over time is noted for GHD and LH/FSHD with possible associations between nontreatment of these conditions and poor health outcomes.
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