Endocrine Abstracts

Study objective: To study the frequency of neuroendocrinal disturbances in patients with different pituitary adenomas.

Material and methods: Under our observation there were 53 patients with various pituitary adenomas, of them female – 31, male – 22, middle age of 41.5 years. According to the aetiology of the underlying disease patients were sorted out as follows: 39 patients had an inactive pituitary adenoma, 2 – craniofaringeoma, 3 – Cushing’s disease, 25 prolactinoma, 1 – astrocytoma, 1 – meningioma, 1 – germinoma.

All patients underwent a complex of examinations including basic clinical, biochemical, radio immune hormonal (GH, IGF1, prolactinum, LH, FSH, TSH, ACTH, hydrocortisone, etc.), ophthalmologic (eyeground, vision fields) and X-ray examination (CT, MRI of sella turcica), and also a questionnaire survey of GH deficiency (GHD) in adults (QoL). The control group consisted of 20 healthy subjects of corresponding age.

Results: According to our data, in the 53 patients the following neuroendocrinal disturbances were observed: secondary amenorrhea – in 13 (25%) patients, primary infertility – in 5 (10%), galactorrhea – in 1 (2.5%), secondary hypogonadism – in 6 (12.5%), secondary hypocorticoidism – in 6 (12.5%), functional hyperprolactinemia – in 6 (12.5%), diabetes insipidus – in 1 (2.5%), GH deficiency – in 39 (73.5%), hypopituitarism – in 12 (22.6%), panhypopituitarism – in 2 (3.7%), secondary hypothyrosis – in 6 (12.5%) patients. The prevailing majority of patients had visual disturbances: bitemporal hemianopsia – 41 (79.1%) patients, amaurosis unilateral – 4 (8.3%), 8 quadrant unilateral hemianopsia – (16.6%), concentric narrowing of visual fields – 22 (41.6%), partial atrophy of optic nerves – 15 (29.1%), paracentral absolute scotoma – 4 (8.3%) patients.

GHD in adults questionnaire (QoL) data analysis has shown that in our patients a reliable significant depression of a psycho-emotional status took place in 39 cases with GHD (73.5%).

Conclusions: i) The most frequent disturbance in patients with pituitary adenomas was the bitemporal hemianopsia – 41 (79.1%) and GHD – in 39 patients (73.5%). ii) A feature of clinical manifestations of GHD in adults is a significant depression of a psycho-emotional status of patients against the background of neuroendocrinal disturbances that is supported by the data of the special questionnaire (QoL) for adults with GHD in all 39 patients (73.5%).