The diagnosis can usually be made with blood tests and imaging studies.
Hypopituitarism can often be treated with hormone replacement therapy.
Its role is to either synthesize and/or secrete hormones that regulate bodily functions.
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Hypopituitarism can be broadly classified by which of these lobes is affected.
Anterior lobe hypopituitarismis characterized by decreases in the hormones produced and secreted by the anterior pituitary gland.
In some cases, the effects may be subtle or easily attributed to other conditions.
At other times, the symptoms may be profound and debilitating.
Common examples include:
In some cases, the cause of hypopituitarism is unknown.
Doctors refer to this as idiopathic hypopituitarism.
Hypopituitarism is a relatively rare condition, affecting around 4 out of every 1,000 people.
Chief among these are blood tests that measure the amount of the pituitary hormone in a sample of blood.
This is not always as straightforward as it sounds.
Imaging studies may also be used to detect a pituitary tumor or other pituitary gland problems.
The two most commonly used are:
If a genetic cause is suspected, specializedgenetic testingmay be performed.
Some of the drugs used in HRT directly replace the depleted hormone.
Others treat the so-called effector gland, meaning the gland that is directly stimulated by a pituitary hormone.
You may also need occasional CT or MRI scans to monitor a pituitary condition.
Instead,high-dose radiationmay be used to shrink or control the tumor.
If cancer is involved,chemotherapymay be prescribed.
Even if a hormone deficiency is confirmed, it may take time before the underlying cause is identified.
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