What causes pituitary gland enlargement?

The pituitary gland is an important part of our body and an endocrine organ. If the pituitary gland is enlarged, we should pay attention to whether it is caused by a growth hormone cell adenoma or an adrenal cortex hormone cell tumor.

(1) Growth hormone cell adenoma: The early tumor is only a few millimeters in size, and the main manifestation is excessive secretion of growth hormone. Minor patients may grow too fast and even develop into giants. After adulthood, they will show acromegaly. For example, the face changes, the forehead becomes larger, the lower jaw protrudes, the nose becomes larger and the lips become thicker, the fingers become thicker, and the shoes and hats feel tight. They have to change to larger sizes several times, and even have to be specially made. Some patients also have increased appetite, rough hair and skin, pigmentation, numbness of fingers, etc. Severe patients feel general fatigue, headache and joint pain, sexual dysfunction, amenorrhea and infertility, and even complications of diabetes.

(2) ACTH cell adenoma: Clinical manifestations include centripetal obesity, moon face, buffalo hump, sanguineous constitution, purple lines on the skin of the abdomen and thighs, increased vellus hair, etc. In severe cases, there is amenorrhea, decreased libido, general fatigue, and even bedriddenness. Some patients also have hypertension, diabetes, etc.

(3) Thyroid stimulating hormone cell tumor: rare, due to excessive secretion of pituitary thyroid stimulating hormone, causing hyperthyroidism symptoms, which disappear after the pituitary tumor is removed. In addition, hypothyroidism feedback causes focal hyperplasia of the pituitary gland, which gradually develops into a pituitary adenoma. When it grows larger, it can also cause enlargement of the sella turcica and compression of nearby tissues.

(4) Follicle-stimulating hormone cell adenoma: It is very rare, with only a few reports of clinical symptoms such as sexual dysfunction, amenorrhea, infertility, and decreased sperm count.

(5) The enlargement of the pituitary gland is mostly due to secondary pituitary edema, which is mostly caused by pathological changes in the brain that secondarily invade the pituitary gland. If the pituitary gland is dysfunctional, endocrine disorders such as increased prolactin will occur. If the inflammation is not treated in time and the edema is not eliminated, it will take too long for the edema to subside and an empty sella turcica will form, damaging the nerves and leading to degenerative Sheehans syndrome. In severe cases, it will be combined with primary brain diseases, leading to dementia and paralysis.