Than microadenoma of the pituitary gland is dangerous: symptoms, treatment and consequences

Pituitary microadenoma: pimple on the nape of the dwarf king.

When they say that the size of the pituitary gland is comparable to the size of a pea, I want to ask: is not this the legendary king Pea, from whom it all began? After all, the pituitary gland informally with a feeling of deep respect and admiration is called "the king of all the glands of internal secretion."

Perhaps, it's not even a king, but a real emperor. The possessions are truly immense. As the size and volume, even if the weight of a person, it has in itself - no more than 35-40 kilograms. But there are people with a mass of several hundred kilograms.

A two-hundred-kilogram person - and a pea in 0.5 g. This is the same as comparing the scale of St. Petersburg or Moscow - and the whole mother Russia.

But, despite the size, this iron is no less important for the life of the organism than the capital for the state or empire.

Not even important - irreplaceable! For life in the body without the pituitary gland is simply impossible. After all, in his "hands" are gathered all the threads of power. Infinite power over every corner and a small dead end of the body.

Anatomical reference

There is a gland in the form of a small oblongformation, called the lower( in contrast to the upper - epiphysis) cerebral appendage, resting on the bottom of the bizarre bone formation on the bottom of the skull( its axiscalled the Turkish saddle. But only the pituitary gland does not pile on him with a proud horseman - he modestly dwells himself in the pit between the front and back of his back-bows.

He received the name of the appendage for living literally in a suspended state, with a large brain( with his third ventricle) connected by a leg - a binding entity like a hollow stalk-straw. This connection only seems thin and fragile, in fact, it is sufficiently reliable( unless, of course, try to break it with trauma and not bring yourself to a microsurgical operation).

And yet the pituitary gland has a mouth( the name assigned to this structure of the gland by science).It is located on the front lobe of the gland - on its "face", as befits a throat of the real commander-in-chief and emperor - a small, but wise.

And all the shares of "chancelleries" in the gland are three, and they control various functions of the body.

But how does management work? After all, where is the pituitary gland, and where, say, the appendix?

Simple. Just as the rivers deliver the forest to the right place, the connection between the "emperor" and "subjects" is carried out through the blood flowing through them. Blood, in which the iron injected substances, vital to this particular structure of the organism at the moment of its history.

These substances are called hormones and are produced by the pituitary gland in response to information about the blood content of other hormones produced by other glands. Or, in response to the presence in the blood of other biologically important substances signaling: in this or that province a crop failure, you need bread( that is, the heart lacks calcium, and the liver - zinc).

And the wise pituitary king sends his plenipotentiaries in the face of hormones that, in themselves being neutral catalysts, "press" certain "keys of power"( stimulating the course of biochemical reactions taking place in the body).

Interconnection is also carried out with the help of other biological fluids - lymph and liquor.

Such a flexible and almost instantaneous communication system( without intermediaries and theft).

It only remains to add that:

• anterior and median lobes of the pituitary ( conventionally often combined together and denoted as adenohypophysis - glandular pituitary) are responsible for the production of thyrotropic, corticotropic, gonadotropic, somatotropic, melanotropic hormones and prolactin;
• posterior lobe of the ( referred to as the neurohypophysis, because it is formed primarily by nerve cells) is responsible for the consumption of the reserves of vasopressin and oxytocin, these hormones in the pituitary gland are only stored up to the required time, and they are produced by the hypothalamus, who is the leader of the "king-dwarf".

Microadenoma of the pituitary: microformat in the microformat

From the name it is clear: adenoma - means a tumor, origin of its leading from glandular tissue( aden - gland), micro - small. And what other size can there be in the body of the gland, which itself is the size of a pea?

The posterior part of the pituitary gland is sometimes called the pituitary gland, because it is a depot of vasopressin and oxytocin, collectively called pituitrin. But to extend this term to the entire pituitary gland, right, does not follow.

Adenoma is an avalanche-like growth of cells( usually benign), leading to the appearance in the gland of an "island" with a diameter of up to 10( most often), or 10 to 30( less often), or over 30( extremely rare) mm.

There is the same microadenoma of the pituitary gland of the brain for the reasons:

• genetic determinant;
• neuroinfections involving structures and membranes of both the large and spinal cord;
• trauma to the skull and brain;
• inadequate blood supply to the pituitary gland or the presence of chemical and other toxins in its blood supply.

The reasons for the excessive workload on the pituitary gland are most often caused by "female problems" in the face:

• abortion;
• pregnancies;
• breast-feeding;
• hormonal contraception.

According to statistics, the pituitary microadenoma is more common in women than in men.

But it concerns men as well, because they also pass through the puberty period, and are sometimes treated with hormonal means.

According to the same stubborn statistics, the occurrence of prolactinoma( one of the names of the microadenoma) is half the incidence of all pituitary tumors, in absolute terms - 2 cases / 100 thousand of the terrestrial population.

However, in the insufficient accuracy of the numbers of statistical accounting, two arguments convince.

• microadenomas are often detected by chance or their "phenomenon" - the result of a purposeful and purposeful search;
• absence for the time being of their clinical symptoms.

Details of the mechanism of formation of this tumor( like any tumor in general) are unknown to science.

Tumor education clinic

Microadenoma of the pituitary gland is a hormonal-active formation, upon reaching a certain volume, imperiously interfering with the activities of both the nervous and endocrine and sexual systems and causing a clinic characteristic for this pathology.

Obtaining a tumor( an unwanted grandmother-spongy, whose actions he can not influence), the pituitary king largely loses its power over the body and increasingly deserves the name: an appendage, although it remains an active part of the brain.

Now, the affairs of the state are governed by his "shadow", a low-key, unattractive "gray cardinal".

It can have the appearance of an endosellar microadenoma, which more and more intensively "squeezes the legs" to neighboring tissues, which leads to a disorder of both their functions and the entire pituitary and brain as a whole.

Or it can appear as a cystic form of it with firm edges and its own membrane, which very quickly begins to manifest itself with endocrine disorders and neurological symptoms.

The future of the state now largely depends on whether any of these forms of adenoma regenerate the posterior lobe of the gland into a malignant neoplasm or not.

In the meantime, it manifests itself by the action of an excess of prolactin, thrown in by the pituitary gland into the blood( stimulated by an overabundance of oxytocin), stimulating lactation in patients regardless of their sex.

In women, pathology manifests itself in the production of breast milk in non-pregnant women of the weaker sex with simultaneous disorders of the female cycle and infertility.

In men - in feminization: in the development of breast glands with an increase in their mass and subsequent, uncharacteristic semi-lactation, as well as in obesity by the female type and the onset of erectile disorders( up to impotence).

But, in addition to oxytocin, in the posterior lobe of the gland is also a depot of vasopressin, which increases the reabsorption of water, which leads to a decrease in urinary excretion, a delay in the body's fluid and the formation of edema. But vasopressin also stimulates the smooth muscles of the intestines, vessels, uterus. So - it stimulates the rise of blood pressure and other "trouble".

Influence on arterial musculature and cerebral blood supply disorders lead to the appearance of:

• headaches;
• epileptic seizures;
• narrowing the fields of vision, visual disorders( up to partial or complete loss of vision).

Other symptoms are possible - it all depends on the proportion of the pituitary gland in the microadenoma.

Intervention from the tumor in the process of producing one of the "-tropic" hormones leads to the extinction of the activity of the endocrine gland, dependent on it( dependent on its concentration in the blood).Or else, on the contrary - to a feverish, like a hysterical, burst of her activity.

When stimulating, for example, growth hormone( when a tumor is located in the anterior lobe), the disease expresses itself as gigantism, and when oppression of its production - dwarfism( nazmom).

The clinic also depends on the volume occupied by the microadenoma, and on the degree of compression of the adjacent tissue by the tumor - if it is insignificant, no noticeable manifestations of the tumor will simply be or they will be insignificant and unstable.

For example, excess body weight may be either one of the manifestations of adenoma - the result of stimulating it to produce growth hormone or prolactin, and may not have any direct relationship to these hormones.

Therefore, the diagnosis of microadenoma of the pituitary gland is the archival stage in the fight against this evil of the caliber of "miser".

Symptoms of hitting the pituitary

Diagnosis here is half the success of

Given that there are no x-ray signs of the pituitary microadenoma, one resorts to the use of more subtle, targeted methods of research - to computer or magnetic resonance imaging( CT or MRI).

The level of hormones in the blood is also capable of detecting pathology in its infancy. But since there are no clinics for the tumor yet, there is no reason to expect anything and search in blood and other biological fluids.

But the accidentally detected tumor - in case of an MRI that is being performed on another occasion - the tumor resolves almost all issues with infertility, and with a stubborn unwillingness to grow up a child, and with a sudden "degeneration into a woman" until then quite a normal man.

So, you can start treatment, which will put on your feet the endocrine system standing on your head and the whole organism as a whole.

Tumor therapy or "dance from MRI"

Having discovered a flaw in the human body, it is treated: dissolve, cauterize, excise. The same is done with the body of the "King of Glory".

Given that the "pimple" on the body of the "king-dwarf" is almost microscopically small, the measures applied to it will also be of the "micro" format.

This is either a microsurgical operation after the tumor reaches a hormone-significant volume. Either observation of the dynamics of its development, if there is one( a series of MRI shots will tell about this), with obligatory comparison of the results of studies with the observed physically bodily manifestations.

Traditional( conservative, therapeutic) methods of influence are the correction of hormonal imbalances by replacing the missing hormones with artificially introduced ones. Or else this suppression of overactivity of pituitary hormones, intensively produced by "pressure" of the tumor, by others, also of artificial origin, by drugs.

Another treatment is justified in the form of homeopathic therapy of the pituitary microadenoma combined with traditional or performed independently( but with the obligatory consent of the treating endocrinologist or other specialist).

Measures to prevent the growth of a diagnosed tumor of the pituitary gland include a number of prohibitions imposed on the patient. In particular:

• for breastfeeding;
• for the reception of hormone-containing contraceptives.

No less important are the actual for both sexes questions of excess weight and the need for correcting its diets.

To remove the tumor, use:

• or reception of endoscopic surgery with operative access through the nasal sinus,
• or method of radiotherapy by direct irradiation of the pituitary gland after the radioactive isotope introduced into the body with the subsequent "washout" of the formed decay products.

Of folk remedies for the treatment of the pituitary microadenoma( only after approval by the attending physician), it is possible to use:

• 10% alcoholic tincture of the bug , taken per os;
• 10% of the alcoholic tincture of the grass of the hemlock for internal use with a gradual increase and an equally smooth decrease in the intake dose( or cooked in olive oil extracts from it for instillation into the nose).

In a number of cases spontaneous, without treatment, disappearance of the pituitary microadenoma. But to rely on the will of the case in such an important issue as a tumor, still not worth it.

The most probable prediction and consequences

The microadenoma of the pituitary gland is mainly dangerous in that with it, pregnancy is impossible in 98% of cases out of a hundred. Except when the pathology develops after conception, which requires special care when bearing a child, under the vigilant control of physicians.

The effect of prolactin on the non-pregnant uterus, resulting in an increased reduction of its smooth muscle fibers, negates the attempt at conception, and leads to the expulsion of the fetus from the uterus of the pregnant woman( leads to abortion or premature birth).

From here follows the necessity of regular reception of the tumor-reducing tumor of Dostinex, and preparation for the conception of the use of adequate doses of bromocriptine.

Prematurity in pregnant women who have pituitary adenoma and receive adequate pathology treatment, does not differ from that of women who do not have it.

For women who have given birth with a pituitary microadenoma, it is mandatory to use laxative-reducing agents to prevent tumor growth.

With a hormonally significant tumor in the anterior pituitary gland, a "failure" occurs in the process of production of hormones secreted to other glands, therefore, their work may be disturbed with all the consequences that result from this. Starting from various forms of already banal diabetes - and ending with pheochromocytoma and others, rare enough diseases so far.

Of all types of tumors of the pituitary gland, the cystic form of the microadenoma of the organ described is the most susceptible to malignancy.

Preventive measures

Prevention of the development of pituitary microadenoma is not very different from that of other brain tumors.

They consist in the prevention of "drunken conception" and the elimination of alcohol as such( except for alcoholic medicinal forms), as well as other habitual domestic intoxications.

Prevention of the incidence of both infectious and nervous diseases with dosing of mental stress, taking measures to boost immunity, as well as protection from head injuries are the main methods of protection against such a serious pathology as the adenoma of the pituitary gland in the "micro" format.