Which hormones are most commonly produced in excess with hyperpituitarism

Hyperpituitarism is when your pituitary gland produces an excess of pituitary hormones. Hyperpituitarism can impact many of your body’s functions such as skin pigmentation, puberty, growth, thyroid activity, sexual function, reproduction, and breast milk production in women.

Pituitary disorders are also called pituitary gland disorders or pituitary diseases. Hyperpituitarism is one type of pituitary disorders. There are two types of pituitary diseases. The second type is hypopituitarism, an underproduction of pituitary hormones.

Symptoms

Hyperpituitarism can cause several conditions. The symptoms of hypopituitarism, also called pituitary disorder symptoms, vary by condition.

Galactorrhea or prolactinoma symptoms:

  • Fatigue
  • Reduced sex drive
  • Infertility
  • Reproductive issues
  • Tenderness in breasts
  • Irregular menstruation
  • No menstruation

Another symptom of prolactinoma is unexpected breast milk production in non-pregnant women. Rarely, men will also produce breast milk.

Cushing Disease symptoms:

  • Fragile bones
  • Increased facial hair
  • Bruising
  • Weight gain
  • Purplish stretch marks

Hyperthyroidism symptoms:

  • Weak muscles
  • Fast heartbeat
  • Weight loss
  • Fatigue
  • Abnormal heartbeat
  • Nervousness

Acromegaly symptoms:

  • Stretch marks
  • Headaches
  • Abnormal periods
  • Large tongue
  • Severe sweating
  • Body odor
  • Large hands
  • Large feet
  • Joint discomfort
  • Restricted movement
  • Skin tags
  • Husky voice
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Enlarged chest

An enlarged chest is known as a “barrel chest.”

Causes

Hyperpituitarism is usually caused by a pituitary tumor. When tumors grow, they sometimes severely press against the pituitary gland, injuring the tissue. Non-cancerous pituitary tumors are the most common cause of both types of pituitary disorders.

When these tumors grow, they force the pituitary gland to malfunction by producing a surplus of certain hormones. These hormones affect reproduction, metabolism, growth, and other body processes that keep you healthy.

Diagnosis

A diagnosis for hyperpituitarism might include a combination of tests: blood tests, oral glucose tolerance tests, stimulation tests, and various forms of brain imaging scans. A diagnosis usually follows analysis of the test results.

Hyperpituitarism and pituitary disorder diagnosis tests:

  • Blood tests — these tests measure hormone levels.
  • Oral glucose tolerance tests — these tests measure your blood sugar level.
  • Stimulation tests — these tests combine with medications to measure hormone levels in your body. Stimulation tests are also called dynamic testing.
  • Brain imaging — computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can determine the presence of tumors.

Treatment

Treatment for Hyperpituitarism varies by the condition it causes in your body.

Common pituitary disorder treatments:

  • Hormone Replacement — certain medications can help shrink tumors and normalize the production of pituitary hormones.
  • Radiation therapy — radiation attacks tumors, including pituitary tumors.
  • Surgery — surgeons remove pituitary gland tumors.

Along with medication, radiation, and surgery, ongoing monitoring is part of hyperpituitarism treatment. Your doctor will evaluate your hormone levels, reaction to treatments, and adjust treatment as needed.

If you or your loved ones experience any of the symptoms of hyperpituitarism, please contact an endocrinologist at Baptist Health.

Hyperpituitarism is a condition due to the primary hypersecretion of pituitary hormones;[3][medical citation needed] it typically results from a pituitary adenoma. In children with hyperpituitarism, disruption of growth regulation is rare, either because of hormone hypersecretion or because of manifestations caused by local compression of the adenoma.[2]

Symptoms and signs[edit]

Symptoms caused by hormone excess and associated mass effects include:

The cause of hyperpituitarism in most cases is due to pituitary adenomas. They usually come from the anterior lobe, are functional and secrete the hormone, GH and prolactin.[6]

Mechanism[edit]

Evidence indicates that the mechanism of hyperpituitarism can originate from genetic disruption causing pituitary tumorigenesis, most pituitary adenomas are monoclonal, which in turn indicates their origin from an event in a single cell.[2] There are three hormones that are oversecreted resulting in the pituitary adenoma: prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and growth hormone (GH).[medical citation needed]

Excess prolactin may result in a prolactinoma[7] Excess GH results in gigantism, the severity of gigantism depends on whether the epiphyseal plate is open.[8] The four most common types of hyperpituitarism are caused by 4 types of pituitary adenoma, as follows: prolactinoma, corticotropinoma (Cushing's disease), somatotropinoma (gigantism), and thyrotropinoma .[9]

Diagnosis[edit]

For the diagnosis of hyperpituitarism it depends on the cell type(s) affected, clinical manifestations of hormone excess may include, gigantism or acromegaly, which can be identified by clinical and radiographic results.[10] Cushing's disease diagnosis is done with a physical examination, laboratory tests and X rays of the pituitary glands (to locate tumors)[11] For prolactinoma, diagnosis comes in the form of the measurement of serum prolactin levels and x-ray of pituitary gland.[12]

Treatment[edit]

Which hormones are most commonly produced in excess with hyperpituitarism

Treatment (for hyperpituitarism) in the case of prolactinoma consists of long-term medical management. Dopamine agonists are strong suppressors of PRL secretion and establish normal gonadal function. It also inhibits tumor cell replication (in some cases causes tumor shrinkage)[13] Treatment for gigantism begins with establishing target goals for IGF-1, transsphenoidal surgery (somatostatin receptor ligands- preoperatively) and postoperative imaging assessment.[14] For Cushing's disease there is surgery to extract the tumor; after surgery, the gland may slowly start to work again, though not always.[15]

What hormones are affected by hyperpituitarism?

Hyperpituitarism is when your pituitary gland produces an excess of pituitary hormones. Hyperpituitarism can impact many of your body's functions such as skin pigmentation, puberty, growth, thyroid activity, sexual function, reproduction, and breast milk production in women.

What hormone is overproduced If you have acromegaly during hyperpituitarism?

Acromegaly occurs when the pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone (GH) over a long period of time.

What are 3 hormones produced by the pituitary gland?

Hormones produced by the pituitary gland.
Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH).
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).
Luteinising hormone (LH).
Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
Prolactin (PRL).
Growth hormone (GH).
Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH).

What is the most common hormone secreted from pituitary Tumours?

Pituitary adenomas are one of the most common primary central nervous system tumors and have an estimated prevalence of 17%. Approximately half of pituitary adenomas secrete distinct pituitary hormones (most often prolactin, growth hormone, or adrenocorticotropic hormone).