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Query: UMLS:C0018681 (headache)
 56,091 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Advances in immunocytochemistry, electron microscopy, cell culture, and molecular techniques have demonstrated that 80 to 90% of the clinically nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas are gonadotrope-derived and recently recognized as gonadotropinomas, which account for as many as 40 to 50% of all pituitary macroadenomas. Patients usually present with mass effects including visual field loss and headache, hypogonadism, and hypopituitarism. Commonly, the tumor is found incidentally. Recently, a few patients with gonadotropinomas were reported to have hormonal hypersecretion syndromes such as ovarian hyperstimulation, testicular enlargement, and precocious puberty. The tumors can be divided into two broad categories: functioning gonadotropinomas with positive immunostaining for follicle-stimulating hormone, leutinizing hormone, and/or their subunits; and nonfunctioning gonadotropinomas or null cell tumors with negative immunostaining for all pituitary hormones but positive nuclear immunostaining for steroid factor-1 or DAX-1 characteristic of gonadotrope differentiation, with evidence of gonadotropin production or gene expression at the mRNA level. Gonadotropinomas are monoclonal in origin but the pathogenesis of these tumors is unknown and factors that stimulate clonal proliferation not yet determined. A new pituitary oncogene, pituitary tumor transforming gene, has recently been found to be overexpressed in about two thirds of these tumors but it is also detected in all other pituitary tumor subtypes. Alterations of tumor hormone receptors and local growth factors may also play a role in the tumor development and/or progression. Transphenoidal surgery remains the principal therapy for the macroadenomas. Radiosurgery using gamma knife, the linear accelerator, or proton beam therapy showed promising results, especially for controlling the residual or recurrent tumors. Medical therapy with somatostatin analogs, dopamine agonists, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists and antagonists are rarely effective in reducing tumor size. Experimental therapy with intraoperative local chemotherapy or potential gene therapy requires further investigation.
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PMID:Gonadotropinomas. 1253 57

Neuroendocrinological aspects of 42 patients (33 women, 9 men) with primary empty sella confirmed by CT, cysternography and/or MR imaging were analyzed. The prominent symptoms were headache, visual disturbances and hypertension, occurring primarily in obese women (84.5%). Patients underwent dynamic endocrine testing consisting of insulin-induced hypoglycemia and anterior pituitary stimulation tests GnRH and TRH. Variable degree of pituitary dysfunction was observed in 28 (66.6%) patients. In this study 20 (47.6%) patients were presented with latent hypopituitarism, while manifest hypopituitarism, requiring replacement therapy, occurred in 8 (19%) patients. Mild hyperprolactinaemia was found in 3 patients. Even 14 (33.3%) patients had no evidence of endocrine dysfunction. Often mentioned diabetes insipidus and rhinoliquorrhea were not reported in this study.
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PMID:Neuroendocrinological aspects of primary empty sella. 1267 49

Lymphocytic hypophysitis is a rare inflammatory disorder which is caused by autoimmune destruction of the pituitary gland. Almost all reported cases have been in women and the disease is often associated with pregnancy. We describe here the first male case of lymphocytic hypophysitis in Korea. The patient presented with headache, impotence, decreased libido, and deteriorated vision. Endocrinologic studies showed panhypopituitarism, and pituitary MRI imaging revealed a homogeneously enhanced pituitary mass with a thickened stalk. Treatment with prednisolone and thyroid hormone for five months was ineffective. Transsphenoidal resection of the pituitary mass was performed successfully with normalization of the visual field defect. Histologic examination revealed diffuse lymphocytic infiltration with dense collagenous fibrosis, consistent with lymphocytic hypophysitis. Lymphocytic hypophysitis should be considered in differential diagnosis even in men with hypopituitarism and an enlarged pituitary gland.
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PMID:First male case of lymphocytic hypophysitis in Korea. 1269 33

Stereotactic radiosurgery by gamma-knife (GK) is an attractive therapeutic option after failure of microsurgical removal in patients with pituitary adenoma. In these tumors or remnants of them, it aims to obtain the arrest of cell proliferation and hormone hypersecretion using a single precise high dose of ionizing radiation, sparing surrounding structures. The long-term efficacy and toxicity of GK in acromegaly are only partially known. Thirty acromegalic patients (14 women and 16 men) entered a prospective study of GK treatment. Most were surgical failures, whereas in 3 GK was the primary treatment. Imaging of the adenoma and target coordinates identification were obtained by high resolution magnetic resonance imaging. All patients were treated with multiple isocenters (mean, 8; range, 3-11). The 50% isodose was used in 27 patients (90%). The mean margin dose was 20 Gy (range, 15-35), and the dose to the visual pathways was always less than 8 Gy. After a median follow-up of 46 months (range, 9-96), IGF-I fell from 805 micro g/liter (median; interquartile range, 640-994) to 460 micro g/liter (interquartile range, 217-654; P = 0.0002), and normal age-matched IGF-I levels were reached in 7 patients (23%). Mean GH levels decreased from 10 micro g/liter (interquartile range, 6.4-15) to 2.9 micro g/liter (interquartile range, 2-5.3; P < 0.0001), reaching levels below 2.5 micro g/liter in 11 (37%). The rate of persistently pathological hormonal levels was still 70% at 5 yr by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The median volume was 1.43 ml (range, 0.20-3.7). Tumor shrinkage (at least 25% of basal volume) occurred after 24 months (range, 12-36) in 11 of 19 patients (58% of assessable patients). The rate of shrinkage was 79% at 4 yr. In no case was further growth observed. Only 1 patient complained of side-effects (severe headache and nausea immediately after the procedure, with full recovery in a few days with steroid therapy). Anterior pituitary failures were observed in 2 patients, who already had partial hypopituitarism, after 2 and 6 yr, respectively. No patient developed visual deficits. GK is a valid adjunctive tool in the management of acromegaly that controls GH/IGF-I hypersecretion and tumor growth, with shrinkage of adenoma and no recurrence of the disease in the considered observation period and with low acute and chronic toxicity.
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PMID:Gamma-knife radiosurgery in acromegaly: a 4-year follow-up study. 1284 50

Lymphocytic hypophysitis is a rare but important cause of pituitary hypofunction which predominantly affects young women in the peripartum period. It is believed to be an autoimmune disorder with an association with other autoimmune disorders and expression of anti-pituitary cytosolic and anti-nuclear antibodies. Clinically, it presents most frequently with symptoms and signs attributable to pituitary hypofunction, headache, visual disturbance and amenorrhoea. It is difficult to distinguish lymphocytic hypophysitis from a pituitary adenoma on pre-operative imaging and definitive diagnosis rests on histology which classically demonstrates destruction of anterior pituitary acini by an inflammatory infiltrate rich in plasma cells and T lymphocytes. Surgical management therefore plays a crucial role to obtain a histological diagnosis and to relieve pressure effects on the optic apparatus in patients with visual disturbances.
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PMID:Lymphocytic hypophysitis. 1285 76

Turner's syndrome (TS) is associated with a wide spectrum of clinical features, such as short stature and gonadal dysgenesis. While it is a common chromosomal abnormality, the association of Turner's syndrome and hypopituitarism is an uncommon finding. We describe here a girl with concomitant pituitary insufficiency and gonadal dysgenesis. When she was 7 years old, her mother reported that she suffered from frontal headache, asthenia and delayed growth. Basal laboratory thyroid evaluation suggested hypothyroidism, with no evidence of autoimmune disease association. She began taking L-thyroxine. At age 11 years, short stature and complaints of frontal headache still persisted. She was still prepubertal and her bone age was delayed by 2.2 years. Her karyotype was compatible with 45,X/46,XX (100 cells analyzed by FISH) and a CT scan showed empty sella. At 12 years of age, an anterior pituitary stimulation test with insulin, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) showed gonadotropin, thyrotropin (TSH) and growth hormone (GH) deficiency. Replacement therapy with GH was begun and she grew 12 cm during the first year of treatment. This report illustrates that, despite the high incidence of sinusitis, short stature and primary hypothyroidism in TS, we should consider the presence of hypopituitarism when the patient presents low levels of TSH with negative thyroid antibodies and inappropriately low levels of gonadotropins for patients with gonadal dysgenesis.
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PMID:Association of Turner's syndrome and hypopituitarism: a patient report. 1294 5

We report a Taiwanese boy who presented with apoplexy of a prolactinoma. A 12 9/12 year-old boy presented to our clinic with headache and visual deficit of bitemporal hemianopsia. Skull X-ray showed an enlarged sella. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the sella turcica showed a 4 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm mass, located at the sella turcica and extending upward to compress the optic chiasm. Preoperative laboratory data showed hyperprolactinemia, hypothyroidism and hypocortisonism. After a stress dose of i.v. hydrocortisone was given, he underwent transsphenoid surgery to remove the tumor. Immunohistochemical stains were positive for PRL in the tumor cells. After surgery, he suffered from neurogenic diabetes insipidus, hypopituitarism and hyperprolactinemia, with serum PRL level of 491 ng/ml. Visual field examination was normal 4 months later. In conclusion, pituitary apoplexy is rare in children but should be considered if a patient suffers from headache, vomiting, and visual deficit. Brain MRI is preferred for diagnosis. Dopaminergic agonists should be given if residual tumor or recurrence of prolactinoma is found after transsphenoidal surgery.
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PMID:Pituitary apoplexy due to prolactinoma in a Taiwanese boy: patient report and review of the literature. 1471 55

Tumors metastatic to the pituitary gland are an unusual complication of systemic cancer typically seen in elderly patients with diffuse malignant disease. Breast and lung are the commonest sites of the primary tumor, whereas diabetes insipidus is the most frequent symptom at presentation. Their rarity and usually indolent course, as well as the lack of specific clinical and radiological features, impede their differentiation from other more common sellar area lesions, particularly when history of malignancy is absent. Management of these patients may also be very difficult because the prognosis depends on the course of the primary neoplasm. A 68-yr-old man, with no history of malignancy, presented with recent onset of hypopituitarism, mild diabetes insipidus, headaches, left oculomotor nerve palsy, and progressive bilateral deterioration of visual acuity and visual fields. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large sellar mass compressing the optic chiasm and invading the left cavernous sinus, whereas a prolactin elevation at 438.6 ng/ml (19.73 nmol/liter) was noted. Decompression of the sellar region was attempted, and pathology disclosed a metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. On postoperative investigation, primary liver tumor was identified and confirmed by biopsy. The patient improved transiently but died 3 months after diagnosis because of deterioration of the liver disease. The relevant literature is reviewed in light of this unusual case, illustrating the problems in the diagnosis and management of patients with metastasis to the pituitary.
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PMID:Tumors metastatic to the pituitary gland: case report and literature review. 1476 64

We describe two young men with cystic pituitary enlargement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) causing hypopituitarism. The first patient presented acutely unwell with headache and vomiting associated with anterior and posterior pituitary dysfunction. The second patient presented with hypopituitarism after a long history of hypogonadism. In both cases yellow/brown fluid was found at surgery and histological examination revealed inflammatory infiltrate with foamy histiocytes, lymphocytes and multinucleated giant cells containing cholesterol clefts. Full recovery of pituitary function occurred after surgery in the first but not the second patient. The first case is the first documented case of xanthomatous hypophysitis with recovery of pituitary function following surgery. The cases differed in duration of disease, as indicated by the long history of symptoms, the histological finding of marked fibrosis and the lack of recovery of pituitary function in the second. Xanthomatous pituitary lesions categorized in the literature as xanthomatous hypophysitis, xanthogranulomatous hypophysitis and xanthogranuloma of the sellar region have overlapping histological features. Our two cases revealed histological features that do not fit completely into any of the categories but share features of all three. These findings suggest that the various xanthomatous lesions of the sellar region may be a spectrum of a common inflammatory process rather than distinct pathological entities.
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PMID:Xanthomatous pituitary lesions: a report of two cases and review of the literature. 1497 40

A 47-year-old man presented with severe clinical hypoglycaemia. He had long-standing insulin-dependent diabetes with previously good glycaemic control. Intense headaches and vomiting initiated hospitalization. A brain computed tomography (CT) scan was normal, and a lumbar puncture showed elevated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein [0.67 g/L; normal range (NR) 0.15-0.45 g/L], suggesting resolving viral meningitis. Routine thyroid function tests were abnormal (free thyroxine 10.6 pmol/L, NR 9-22.5 pmol/L; thyroid-stimulating hormone 0.16 mU/L, NR 0.35-5 mU/L). In the absence of evident thyroid therapy, the laboratory policy required an urgent cortisol assay to be added; this was very abnormal (42 nmol/L), suggesting hypopituitarism. Later analysis showed that concentrations of gonadotrophins and adrenocorticotrophin were low. An urgent pituitary magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed an unsuspected pituitary tumour with recent haemorrhage (pituitary apoplexy). The patient was given intravenous hydrocortisone and then stabilized on oral hydrocortisone, thyroxine and mesterolone. He made a full recovery and the hypoglycaemia resolved. The normal brain CT scan was falsely reassuring and the CSF protein was not due to viral meningitis but to haemorrhage into the pituitary tumour. If laboratory policy had not required the urgent cortisol assay be added, the diagnosis of hypopituitarism would have been delayed or even missed altogether. This could have led to the death of the patient.
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PMID:The role of the biochemistry department in the diagnosis of pituitary apoplexy. 1502 11


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