Clinical manifestations of hypopituitarism
- Author
- Peter J Snyder, MD
Peter J Snyder, MD
- Editor-in-Chief — Endocrinology
- Section Editor — Pituitary Disease; Male Reproductive Endocrinology
- Professor of Medicine
- University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
- Section Editor
- David S Cooper, MD
David S Cooper, MD
- Editor-in-Chief — Endocrinology
- Section Editor — Pituitary Disease; Thyroid Disease
- Professor of Medicine and International Health
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- Deputy Editor
- Kathryn A Martin, MD
Kathryn A Martin, MD
- Senior Deputy Editor — UpToDate
- Deputy Editor — Endocrinology and Patient Education
- Assistant Professor of Medicine
- Harvard Medical School
INTRODUCTION
The presentation of hypopituitarism can be considered as the presentation of deficiency of each anterior pituitary hormone. The presentations of patients with deficiencies of those hormones that control target glands are often similar to the presentations of patients with primary deficiencies of the target gland hormones they control, with some notable exceptions.
An overview of the clinical manifestations in patients with hypopituitarism will be provided here. The causes, diagnosis, and treatment of hypopituitarism are reviewed separately. (See "Diagnostic testing for hypopituitarism" and "Treatment of hypopituitarism".)
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Damage to the anterior pituitary can occur suddenly or slowly, can be mild or severe, and can affect the secretion of one, several, or all of its hormones. As a result, the clinical presentation of anterior pituitary hormone deficiencies varies, depending upon the following factors (see "Causes of hypopituitarism"):
●The rapidity with which a disease affects anterior pituitary cells. Some diseases, such as pituitary apoplexy, develop rapidly, causing sudden impairment of corticotropin (ACTH) secretion and, consequently, sudden onset of symptoms of cortisol deficiency. Other insults, such as radiation therapy to the pituitary or hypothalamus, usually act slowly, causing symptoms many months or, more likely, years later.
●The severity of the hormonal deficiency. Complete ACTH and cortisol deficiency, as an example, can cause symptoms under basal circumstances, while partial ACTH deficiency may cause symptoms only during times of physical stress.
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