The pituitary gland produces a number of hormones or chemicals which are released into the blood to control other glands in the body. If the pituitary is not producing one or more of these hormones, or not producing enough, then this condition is known as hypopituitarism. If all the hormones produced by the pituitary are affected this condition is known as panhypopituitarism.
Hypopituitarism is most often caused by a benign (i.e. not cancerous) tumour of the pituitary gland, or of the brain in the region of the hypothalamus. Pituitary underactivity may be caused by the direct pressure of the tumour mass on the normal pituitary or by the effects of surgery or radiotherapy used to treat the tumour. Less frequently, hypopituitarism can be caused by infections (such as meningitis) in or around the brain or by severe blood loss, by head injury, or by various rare diseases such as sarcoidosis.
Typical symptoms
• excessive tiredness and decreased energy
• muscle weakness
• reduced body hair
• irregular periods (oligomenorrhoea) or loss of normal menstrual function (amenorrhoea) – females
• impotence – males
• reduced fertility
• decrease in sex drive
• weight gain
• increased sensitivity to cold
• constipation
• dry skin
• pale appearance
• low blood pressure and dizziness on standing (postural hypotension)
• headaches
• vision disturbance
• Diabetes Insipidus
Each of the symptoms described above occur in response to the loss of one or more of the hormones produced by the pituitary.