The pituitary gland is about the size of a peanut and sits at the bottom of the brain. It’s known commonly as the “master gland”, because it controls other glands in the body and regulates several bodily functions like growth, reproduction, and stress reactions through hormones, slow-acting chemical messengers. When the pituitary gland malfunctions, it either overproduces or under produces the hormones that it controls, causing a wide range of reactions.
Pituitary gland malfunction can be severe or mild, and often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed because the symptoms can mimic so many other diseases. These are the hormones the pituitary gland are responsible for responding to disease, controlling blood pressure, releasing eggs in women and sperm in men, pregnancy, regulating growth of the body and metabolism, breast milk production, and regulating the amount of water in the body.
When the pituitary gland malfunctions and is overactive or underactive, growth can be stunted or sped up, the ability to have children may be at risk, and everyday functions such as maintaining a normal blood pressure may be difficult to manage.
Common symptoms of pituitary gland malfunction include:
The main cause of pituitary gland malfunction is a benign tumour on the pituitary gland. Other common causes include a head injury, bleeding near the pituitary gland, and radiation therapy.
Risk factors for pituitary gland malfunction include genetic conditions like:
People of either sex can develop pituitary gland malfunction at any age.
In addition to taking a thorough medical history and a physical exam, a medical professional will run some specialised tests to determine pituitary gland malfunction. These include blood and urine tests to measure the level of hormones in your body, as well as dynamic tests that are designed to raise or lower the levels of certain hormones. If those hormones don’t respond as expected, it indicates some kind of pituitary malfunction. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology can also be used to detect the presence of benign tumours.
Complications of pituitary gland malfunction include:
Pituitary gland malfunction can be treated in a variety of ways. Often medication is used to replace hormones, if the pituitary gland is under producing, or to suppress hormones if it is over producing. Treatment of any vision loss is included in a treatment plan for someone with pituitary gland malfunction, if that’s something they have experienced. Additionally, surgery and radiation therapy can be used to eliminate the benign tumours causing the malfunction.
While there is no instant cure or way to prevent pituitary gland malfunction, you can have a high quality of life living with it and managing it.