The hypothalamus links it to the brain and, therefore, the rest of the body. Through this link, the pituitary gland is able to find out what the body needs and respond appropriately. Depending on the body’s needs, it will send hormones and messages to other glands in the endocrine system and help the body grow and develop from there.
When there are problems with the pituitary gland, the whole endocrine system can suffer. Here are some of the problems someone might experience with the endocrine system:
Adrenal insufficiency is when the adrenal glands aren’t efficient at producing and supplying corticosteroids and can cause weakness, fatigue, nausea and skin changes. This is often treated with medication that replaces corticosteroids. Another problem with the endocrine system is diabetes, which occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin and is treated with either insulin injections or managed by diet and exercise. Problems with the thyroid also fall under this category. Growth hormone problems can either make the kids grow too much or not enough. They can also affect adults as well. These problems are often caused by pituitary tumors.
While pituitary tumors are quite common, so common in fact that many people don’t even know they have them, some cause serious symptoms that need to be treated to help the quality of life of the patients. Generally, these tumors are not cancerous. They can wreck havoc on the human body, however, because it decreases the activity of the pituitary gland so that the body as a lack of hormones or it causes the pituitary gland to produce excessive amounts of hormones.
This hormone deficiency, also called hypopituitarism, can be treated with hormone replacement medications. The good news is that not everyone who suffers from hypopituitarism has deficiencies in all of their hormones:
ACTH deficiency is a lack of cortisol which causes fatigue, weight loss, nausea and vomiting. TSH deficiency is a lack of thyroid hormone which causes fatigue, weight gain and memory problems. LH and FSH deficiencies cause a loss of sexual function, menstrual cycles and fertility. Growth hormone deficiencies cause short stature in children and fatigue in adults. Prolactin deficiencies prevent women from nursing and don’t seem to have adverse effects in men. ADH deficiencies cause frequent thirst and urination.
Hormone replacement therapy can help mange all of the deficiencies except for prolactin. These replacements (also known as steroids) can be administered through pills, injections, patches and gels or nasal sprays. This hormone replacement therapy needs to continue until the pituitary gland recovers it’s normal function. If it doesn’t do so, then the hormone replacement therapy must continue.
One of the big questions is whether or not men should take testosterone replacement medication. Testosterone is necessary for normal sexual function, but it’s also necessary for maintenance of bone, muscle mass and proper blood production. One of the big issues with testosterone replacement is that it can promote the growth of prostate cancer if it is already present in the body, so any testosterone replacement candidate should have regular prostate exams. Sources: |
