Saturday, February, 11, 2012

Hypopituitarism

Table of Contents

Alternative Names

Pituitary insufficiency


Symptoms
  • Abdominal pain
  • Cessation of menstrual periods (in women)
  • Decreased appetite
  • Decreased sexual interest (in men)
  • Failure to release milk (in women)
  • Fatigue
  • Headache
  • Infertility (in women)
  • Lack of sex drive (in women)
  • Loss of armpit or pubic hair
  • Loss of body or facial hair (in men)
  • Low blood pressure
  • Sensitivity to cold
  • Short stature (less than 5 feet) if onset is during a growth period
  • Slowed growth and sexual development (in children)
  • Visual disturbances
  • Weakness
  • Weight loss

Note: Symptoms may develop slowly and may vary greatly, depending upon:

  • The number of lacking hormones and their target organs
  • The severity of the disorder

Other symptoms that may occur with this disease:

  • Facial swelling
  • Hair loss
  • Hoarseness or changing voice
  • Joint stiffness
  • Weight gain (unintentional)

Signs and tests

To diagnose hypopituitarism, there must be low hormone levels due to a problem with the pituitary gland. The diagnosis must also rule out diseases of the organ that is affected by this hormone.

Tests include:

  • Brain CT scan
  • Pituitary MRI
  • Serum ACTH
  • Serum cortisol
  • Serum estradiol (estrogen)
  • Serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
  • Serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)
  • Serum luteinizing hormone (LH)
  • Serum testosterone level
  • Serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)
  • Thyroid hormone (T4)

Levels of a pituitary hormone may be high in the bloodstream if you have a pituitary tumor that is producing too much of that hormone. The tumor may crush the rest of the cells of the pituitary, leading to low levels of other hormones.


Review Date: 11/25/2009
Reviewed By: Ari S. Eckman, MD, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)