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 147,016 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of oral contraceptives (OCs), termed one of the epochal developments of modern times. OCs have had both direct and indirect influences on moral, social, and cultural values and on the interaction of population resources and the environment. In recent years there has been a trend away from OC use because of increased mortality rates, especially in women over 35 years of age and smokers. However, epidemiologic studies have indicated that the incidence of death from cardiovascular disease, thromboembolic disease, and stroke was greatly reduced when newer preparations with lower steroidal doses became available. The reduction of the estrogen content from 150 mcg of ethinyl estradiol-3-methylether to 30-35 mcg of ethinyl estradiol and of the progestin component from 10 mg of norethindrone to 1 mg or less has not interefered with effective conception control. The progestin component of the pill was linked to high blood pressure, lipid changes, and cardiovascular changes with an unfavorable impact on arterial disease. Although many insist that the question of whether OCs cause or predispose to cardiovascular problems cannot be answered at this time, the potential risks involved in OC use are generally regarded to be outweighed by the benefits. Reductions in OC dosages have also reduced the incidence of galactorrhea, amenorrhea, and on-pill amenorrhea. New triphasic formulations that more closely imitate the hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle are considered to hold much promise in terms of safety and effectiveness.
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PMID:Oral contraceptives: the state of the art. 391 70

A 28-year-old woman with bilateral headaches and vomiting was found to have normal prolactin levels despite an eight-year history of intermittent galactorrhea and amenorrhea and the current finding of a pituitary microadenoma. The microadenoma contained hemosiderin. It is concluded that pituitary apoplexy is not confined to large tumors that have outgrown their blood supply, but can occur in microadenomas with regression of a positive endocrinopathy.
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PMID:Apoplexy in a prolactin microadenoma leading to remission of galactorrhea and amenorrhea. 719 10

A serum prolactin (PRL) level is obtained in response to a specific clinical presentation, including symptoms of hyperprolactinemia (such as amenorrhea and galactorrhea); serum PRL measurement may also be performed as part of an infertility evaluation. An initial level above the normal range should be followed by a repeat level from a blood sample drawn in the morning with the patient in a fasting state. The medical history and a few laboratory tests can eliminate the most common physiologic and pharmacologic causes of hyperprolactinemia, including pregnancy, primary hypothyroidism and treatment with drugs (such as neuroleptics) that reduce dopaminergic effects on the pituitary. In the absence of such causes, radiologic imaging of the sella turcica is necessary to establish whether a PRL-secreting pituitary adenoma or other lesion is present. The vast majority of patients are treated medically, with dopamine agonist drugs. Surgery is reserved for the patient with the uncommon tumor that does not respond to medical therapy or has a large cystic component or for the occasional patient who cannot tolerate dopamine agonists or who experiences pituitary apoplexy.
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PMID:Diagnostic evaluation of hyperprolactinemia. 1064 17

Histologically, cholesterol clefts are often observed in craniopharyngioma, Rathke's cleft cyst, and various granulomas. However, pituitary adenomas with cholesterol clefts are rare. A 46-year-old woman developed visual field disturbance. She had no history of severe headache that would suggest pituitary apoplexy. She presented with homonymous bitemporal hemianopsia and galactorrhea. Blood prolactin level was 63.1 ng/mL Other hypophysial hormone levels were within normal range. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a pituitary tumor with intratumoral cyst. The cyst showed high intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images. The tumor was demonstrated with iso intensity on T1-weighted image and with high intensity on 12-weighted image. She underwent trans-sphenoidal surgery. The tumor was soft, with yellowish, oily fluid, probably the cyst content. By light microscopy with hematoxylin and eosin staining, a typical chromophobic adenoma of the pituitary was identified. Immunostaining revealed immunoreactivity for ACTH in several cells. Many cholesterol clefts and several hemosiderin pigment containing macrophages were observed. Electron microscopy demonstrated a pituitary adenoma with sparse and small secretory granules and numerous lysosomes. The cyst was most likely caused by focal hemorrhagic infarction, followed by the formation of cholesterol crystals, the appearance of hemosiderin containing macrophages, foreign body product cells, and accumulation of lysosomes.
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PMID:Pituitary Adenoma with Cholesterol Clefts. 1211 66

Pituitary carcinomas are very rare tumors, nearly always presenting as widely invasive masses, although the hallmark of these lesions is the finding of distant metastases. One third of reported cases are prolactin (PRL)-secreting tumors. We report the case of a fatal pituitary carcinoma evolving within 4 years from a PRL-secreting microadenoma. A 22-year-old woman presented because of galactorrhea. Evaluation of the patient disclosed slight hyperprolactinemia and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a 7-mm intrapituitary lesion, which responded to treatment with cabergoline. About 4 years after the first evaluation she developed sudden headache, ptosis, and diplopia in the right eye. MRI disclosed the growth of a large pituitary mass, invading the right cavernous sinus. Despite two trans-sphenoidal surgical procedures followed by gamma-knife radiosurgery, the patient showed rapid local progression of the tumor and the occurrence of new lung lesions, probably of metastatic nature. The patient died 7 months after the development of her first neurological symptoms because of tumor apoplexy and subsequent subarachnoid hemorrhage. This case represents the first documented rapid evolution from a microprolactinoma initially responding to dopamine agonists to a fatal pituitary carcinoma.
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PMID:Evolution of a prolactin-secreting pituitary microadenoma into a fatal carcinoma: a case report. 1791 59

Clinically NFPA is currently the preferred term for designing all the pituitary adenomas which are not hormonally active (in other words, not associated with clinical syndromes such as amenorrhea-galactorrhea in the context of prolactinomas, acromegaly, Cushing's disease or hyperthyroidism secondary to TSH-secreting adenomas). They account for 15-30% of pituitary adenomas. Diagnosis is usually made either in the context of mass effect due to a macroadenoma or, increasingly, fortuitously during imaging performed for some unrelated purpose; the latter case is known as pituitary incidentaloma. Surgery is indisputably indicated in case of tumoral syndrome, but other aspects of NFPA (hormonal work-up, follow-up, and especially postoperative follow-up, management of remnant or recurrence, the special case of incidentaloma, or apoplexy) remain controversial. The French Endocrinology Society (SFE) therefore set up an expert working group of endocrinologists, neurosurgeons, ophthalmologists, neuroradiologists, pathologists and biologists to draw up guidelines, at the 2012 SFE Congress in Toulouse, France. The present article presents the guidelines suggested by this group of French-speaking experts.
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PMID:Management of clinically non-functioning pituitary adenoma. 2607 84

Objective: Simonetta Vespucci, considered the most beautiful woman of the Renaissance, is the inspiration and face of one of the most famous paintings of all times, "The Birth of Venus," by Botticelli. She died in 1476 at the age of 23 years. We postulate she suffered from a pituitary-secreting tumor progressing to pituitary apoplexy. The goals of this study were 3-fold: (i) verify that the subject depicted by Botticelli in different paintings represents the same woman; (ii) identify the facial traits affected by the progression of a growth hormone- and prolactin-secreting tumor; and (iii) confirm that the observed changes of the face traits observed in the portraits of Simonetta Vespucci are compatible with the facial traits changes identified earlier. Methods: Comparison among face traits was based on the analysis of the face regions measured by means of fiducial points and their distances, and after pose compensation based on three-dimensional head modelling. Results: In favor of the hypothesis that Simonetta suffered from a pituitary growth hormone- and prolactin-secreting tumor stands changes of her lineaments, a feature which becomes evident over the years and particularly manifest in the Allegorical Lady, where galactorrhea is depicted. Conclusion: We conclude that sufficient evidence is presented to suggest that Simonetta Vespucci, the Venus depicted by Botticelli, suffered from pituitary adenoma secreting prolactin and growth hormon with parasellar expansion. The current interpretation of the Venus strabism should be revisited according to this finding. Abbreviation: GH = growth hormone.
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PMID:VENUS BY BOTTICELLI AND HER PITUITARY ADENOMA. 3117 Mar 60

Pediatric pituitary adenomas (PPAs) are rare neoplasms with a propensity for unusual presentations and an aggressive clinical course. Here, the authors describe 6 highly atypical PPAs to highlight this tendency and discuss unexpected management challenges.A 14-year-old girl presented with acute hemiparesis and aphasia. MRI revealed a pituitary macroadenoma causing internal carotid artery invasion/obliteration without acute apoplexy, which was treated via emergent transsphenoidal resection (TSR). Another 14-year-old girl developed precocious galactorrhea due to macroprolactinoma, which was medically managed. Several years later, she re-presented with acute, severe, bitemporal hemianopia during her third trimester of pregnancy, requiring emergent induction of labor followed by TSR. A 13-year-old boy was incidentally diagnosed with a prolactinoma after routine orthodontic radiographs captured a subtly abnormal sella. An 18-year-old male self-diagnosed pituitary gigantism through a school report on pituitary disease. A 17-year-old boy was diagnosed with Cushing disease by his basketball coach, a former endocrinologist. A 12-year-old girl with growth arrest and weight gain was diagnosed with Cushing disease, which was initially treated via TSR but subsequently recurred and ultimately required 12 operations, 5 radiation treatments involving 3 modalities, bilateral adrenalectomy, and chemotherapy. Despite these efforts, she ultimately died from pituitary carcinoma.
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PMID:Extraordinary case presentations in pediatric pituitary adenoma: report of 6 cases. 3160 23