Understanding Pituitary Gland Disorders: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

What is it?

The Pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is a pea size organ located right below you brain. Its main job is to secrete different hormones to your blood- each group of cells secretes a different type of hormone.
An abnormal growth of the pituitary gland can lead to a high or low level of hormones. Another effect of this overgrowth appears if it presses nearby parts of your brain and causes nerve damage, most commonly the one responsible for your vision.
A Prolactinoma is the most common overgrowth of the pituitary. It secrets the hormone prolactin.
This overgrowth is benign, not cancerous, but it can cause different symptoms

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Signs & symptoms

Other than vision problems, you may experience headaches, decreased sex drive (libido), and bone loss.
In women, prolactinoma can cause irregular menstrual cycle, trouble getting pregnant and milky discharge from your nipples.
In men, it can cause erectile dysfunction and decreased body hair growth.

Diagnosis

Blood tests- to measure hormone levels
Imaging- MRI of your brain- to measure the size of the overgrowth

Treatment

The treatment for prolactinomas varies depending on their size and symptoms.
Medication is normally the first choice of treatment. A prolactinoma is usually treated with Dopamine agonists.
Surgery to remove the prolactinoma is needed if the medication causes Intolerable side effects, or the overgrowth is very large.

☝️ This is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision.

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Source of Information - We analyze big data of more than 23 million patients de-identified medical records from the following sources:

National Institution of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ University of Illinois hospital