Symptoms of pituitary hyperplasia

Pituitary hyperplasia is a very common symptom and also a disease that can have a great impact on the patient's physical health. There are many specific types of pituitary hyperplasia, such as growth hormone cell adenoma, prolactin cell adenoma, adrenocorticotroph cell adenoma, and thyroid stimulating hormone cell adenoma, all of which are pituitary hyperplasia. Of course, different pituitary hyperplasia has different symptoms!

1. Somatotroph adenoma

Early tumors are only a few millimeters in size and are mainly manifested by excessive secretion of growth hormone. Minor patients may grow rapidly and even develop into giants. In adulthood, it manifests as 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. The patients have to change to larger sizes several times, and some even have to have them specially made. Some patients also have increased appetite, rough hair and skin, pigmentation, numbness of fingers, etc. In severe cases, patients may feel general fatigue, headache, joint pain, sexual dysfunction, amenorrhea and infertility, and even develop diabetes.

2. Prolactin Cell Adenoma

The main manifestations are amenorrhea, galactorrhea, infertility, and in severe cases, loss of armpit hair, pale and delicate skin, increased subcutaneous fat, as well as fatigue, tiredness, drowsiness, headache, and decreased sexual function. In men, symptoms include decreased libido, impotence, breast hyperplasia, sparse beard, and in severe cases, atrophy of reproductive organs, decreased sperm count, and infertility. There are not many cases of male to female changes.

3. Corticotroph cell adenoma

The clinical manifestations include centripetal obesity, moon face, buffalo hump, sanguinea, purple lines on the skin of the abdomen and thighs, and increased vellus hair. In severe cases, patients may suffer from amenorrhea, loss of libido, general fatigue, and even be bedridden. Some patients also have hypertension, diabetes, etc.

Thyroid stimulating hormone cell tumor

Rarely, it is caused by excessive secretion of thyroid stimulating hormone from the pituitary gland, which causes hyperthyroidism symptoms. The hyperthyroidism symptoms disappear after the pituitary tumor is removed. In addition, hypothyroidism can cause focal hyperplasia of the pituitary gland, which gradually develops into a pituitary adenoma. When it grows bigger, it can also cause symptoms such as enlargement of the sella turcica and compression of nearby tissues.