Pituitary Disorders

Your pituitary gland, which is located at the base of your brain, is a very integral part of your body and the way it functions as well as growth.  The pituitary gland, even though it is just about pea-sized, creates hormones that help with growth development as well as many other types of development of the body.

When it comes to pituitary disorders, they can be caused by having too much of a hormone or even too little of a hormone; however, the most common cause of pituitary gland disorders is a pituitary tumor.

Pituitary Tumors

World's Tallest Man with a Pituitary Disorder by SporeKini

This is the most common type of disorder of the pituitary gland and can be non-secreting or hormone secreting.  The tumor, as it grows, may cause headaches, severe migraines, nausea, vomiting as well as a disturbance in your vision because it is compressing the tissues surrounding itself.  More often than that, a tumor also causes an extensive amount of one hormone to be made while the amount in other hormones can significantly decrease.  Pituitary tumors can be cured by having surgery performed in order to dispose of the tumor.

Deficiency in the Growth Hormone

When there is a deficiency in the growth hormone, which can be caused by a number of things, can be dramatic especially for children.  Children that suffer from this deficiency will suffer from delayed growth as well as a short figure.  As for adults, this deficiency could lead to an increase in fatigue, weakness experienced in the muscles, a decrease in bonus mass as well as obesity.

Hypopituitarism

This simply means that the pituitary gland is not functioning up to par.  Normally, this disorder will occur when an injury has occurred to the pituitary gland or if the hypothalamus, which is located just above the pea-sized master gland, is damaged it can cause deficient function of the pituitary gland.  If the damage continues without being repaired then the hormonal function will decrease.  The growth hormone will normally be lost first followed by the LH and FSH, which are the hormones that contribute to the sexual and reproductive function.  Next up is the TSH, which the thyroid release hormone and then usually the last hormone in line is the ACTH, which administers adrenal function.

Empty Sella Syndrome

This is actually a condition that could possibly lead to hypopituitarism, described above.  If this happens, which is rarely the case, the pituitary gland actually shrinks as a result of pressure being put on the gland from the sella getting larger in size.  When the gland shrinks, it causes the hormone production to weaken and decrease resulting in the possibility of hypopituitarism.  However, the sella, which is a structure that encases  the pituitary gland will normally get larger and place pressure upon the gland.

Near the beginning of the condition, many individuals may actually experience symptoms such as headaches, problems with their vision, etc.

Cushing’s Syndrome Disease

While this a rare pituitary disorder, which only occurs in about 10 – 15 individuals out of a million people each year, it is normally caused when a pituitary gland tumor produces too much ACTH (adrenal function), which then leads to the excessive contact with the adrenal gland hormone cortisol.  The symptoms can vary with the Cushing’s Syndrome/Disease but do include pink streaks located on the abdomen, easy bruising, obesity in the upper body and face, depression, weakness in muscles, high blood sugar, high blood pressure as well as osteoporosis.  In more than 70% of the adults that suffer from this disease and about 65% of adolescents and children, the primary cause of the Cushing’s Syndrome is a pituitary gland tumor.  The disease is most common in those aged between 20 and 50.  More than 70% are women.

Acromegaly/Gigantism

Another rare pituitary disorder is Acromegaly.  This disorder normally occurs when there is an excessive amount of growth hormone produced, which is primarily caused by a tumor.  When this pituitary disorder goes untreated, it will ultimately coarsen any facial hair and features, cause your hands and feet to become larger (such as you’ll begin wearing a size larger in rings and shoes), arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, an increase in bone thickness, sweating, sleep apnea, headaches, fatigue as well as hypertension.

Now, if this tumor were to develop in a child that has yet to reach full development in terms of bone growth then instead of Acromegaly, the result is known as Gigantism.  This will cause not only disproportionate bone growth but also an unusually tall body build.

As you can see, there are a number of different pituitary disorders and the ones listed are nowhere near finishing off the list of these disorders.  There are many more disorders that you should research should this be of interest to you but the list above will give you a good start on understanding the different pituitary disorders.

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What is the Pituitary Gland?

Did you know that a gland about the size of a pea, located at the bottom of your brain is the master gland of your entire endocrine system?  It is known as the master gland of the endocrine system simply because it controls the functions of all other glands of the endocrine system.  This gland also secretes hormones, which are blood stream traveling chemicals.

Pituitary Gland by Gallant Strides

Now, this gland is actually attached to the part of your brain that ultimately affects it, known as the hypothalamus.  The two are attached via nerve fibers.  The pituitary “master” gland is made up of three sections, which are the anterior lobe, the intermediate lobe as well as the posterior lobe.  Let’s break all three of these sections down and look at the functions of each as each of them produce different, but specific hormones and the pituitary gland overall.

The Anterior Lobe

The anterior lobe of the master gland produces several different types of hormones.  The first of which is the growth hormone, which needs no introduction as it is self-explanatory.  This part of the gland also produces prolactin, which is produced in order to help in the stimulation of the production of milk after childbirth.  Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) stimulate adrenal glands and the thyroid gland respectively.  The luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) both help to stimulate both the ovaries and/or testes.

The Intermediate Lobe

The intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland only produces a hormone known as a melanocyte-stimulating hormone.  Its primary function is to control the body’s skin pigmentation.

The Posterior Lobe

This part of the gland produces only two hormones.  The first of which is the antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which is known to increase water absorption into the blood by the body’s kidneys.  The second of which is oxytocin, which also helps to stimulate the production of milk and to also help in the contraction of the uterus during childbirth.

With that said, the pituitary gland ultimately controls adrenal glands, the thyroid, ovaries and the testes – and much more.  The pituitary gland, all three parts of it, is a huge part of our body, the way we function and the way we respond to our surrounding environment, whether we realize this or not.

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