Pituitary disorders

| The pituitary gland is a gland located in the head and is responsible for the production of a large amount of hormones.

It is made up of several parts: the lobes: the anterior and posterior and the pituitary stalk. The stalk is the structure that connects the pituitary to the hypothalamus (hormone-producing brain structure).

Substances that stimulate the production of hormones by the pituitary gland are released from the hypothalamus. The hormones synthesized by the pituitary gland pass into the bloodstream to reach the different organs where they perform their function: thyroid, ovaries, testicles.

Hormones that are produced in the anterior lobe of the pituitary:

• GH: growth hormone

• Prolactin: essential hormone during lactation for the production of milk.

• TSH: thyrotropic hormone that stimulates the production of thyroid hormones

• ACTH: corticotropic hormone that stimulates the release of hormones in the adrenal gland

• FSH and LH: hormones that stimulate the follicle and ovary

The following hormones are stored in the posterior lobe:

• Vasopressin: also called antidiuretic hormone; Its function is to concentrate the urine so that the body loses less water.

• Oxytocin: essential hormone to produce uterine contractions and milk secretion.

Pituitary alterations can cause a defect or excess of one or more hormones.

The most common cause of excess pituitary function is hormone-producing tumors (one or more at a time). There are also non-functioning tumors.

The symptoms of pituitary tumors can be summarized in three main blocks:

• Symptoms that depend on the type of hormone that is being synthesized in excess: hyperthyroidism (TSH), galactorrhea or emission of milk (prolactin) or exaggerated increase in growth (GH).

• Symptoms of the deficit of the rest of the hormones that are not synthesized in the pituitary.

• The compressive effect of the tumor on the structures near the pituitary: headache, compression of the optic chiasm (causes vision defects and paralysis of the ocular muscles).

Treatment

The treatment of each case depends on the circumstances of each child, medicines are used that stop the exaggerated production of hormones that are elevated and the function of those that are scarce is replaced.

Treatment of the tumor is aimed at reducing its size: drugs and radiation therapy. In some cases surgery is necessary.

Other pituitary alterations also produce excess or defect in the production of hormones, but their cause is not a tumor, but rather an infection, a blood supply problem, as a side effect of surgery or radiotherapy, or genetic alterations.