Pituitary最新文献

Growth hormone is fundamental for growth during childhood and for maintaining bone mass and homeostasis in the adults. GH deficiency causes decreased bone growth and osteopenia, whereas GH excess causes increased bone fragility and decreased bone quality. In the past, it was common knowledge that GH effects on the skeletal system were due to the production of IGF1 from the liver, which has a huge bone anabolic effect per se. However, with the progress of basic research techniques new light has been shed on the mechanisms underlying GH effect in bone, and it is now clear that GH has effects that go beyond the downstream activation of liver IGFs. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to summarize the milestones in basic research that led to the discovery of GH local activity on bone.

Hyponatremia is the most frequent electrolyte alteration among hospitalized patients and it has been reported in 20-40% of patients with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection. Multiple causes of hyponatremia have been hypothesized in these patients. The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD) has been considered one of the main reasons leading to hyponatremia in this condition. SIAD can be secondary to cytokines release, in particular IL-6. Positive pressure ventilation can be another cause of hyponatremia due to SIAD. Other possible etiologies of hyponatremia in COVID-19 patients can be related to secondary hypocortisolism, nausea, vomiting, heart and kidney damage. Similar to many other clinical conditions, there is strong evidence that hyponatremia is associated with a worse prognosis also in patients with COVID-19 infection. In particular, hyponatremia has been identified as an independent risk of ICU transfer, need of non-invasive ventilation and death. Hyponatremia in COVID-19 patients is in principle acute and symptomatic and should be treated as such, according to the published guidelines. Therefore, patients should be initially treated with i.v. hypertonic saline (3% NaCl) infusion and serum [Na⁺] should be frequently monitored, in order to remain within a safe rate of correction. There is evidence showing that serum [Na⁺] correction is associated with a better outcome in different pathologies, including COVID-19 infection.

Active acromegaly may lead to irreversible complications. Among them, acromegaly osteopathy and fragility (vertebral and hip) fractures have emerged as frequent and precocious events in the natural history of the disease, being correlated with longer disease duration and higher growth hormone (GH) levels, accounting for patients' reported poor quality of life, physical performance and other life-impacting complications. Differently from primary osteoporosis, bone mineral density is not a reliable tool to predict fracture risk in this clinical setting, as patients with active disease frequently have normal or slightly reduced bone mass; whereas bone quality is particularly compromised, as determined by low trabecular bone score (TBS) in patients with active disease as compared to healthy controls or patients with cured/controlled disease. The evidence of impaired bone microstructure has been profoundly investigated with different computed tomography (CT) techniques, reporting low trabecular number and thickness as well as wide but more porous cortical bone, providing an explanation for such a high prevalence of vertebral fractures (up to 40-50% in selected cohorts). Since data on bone-active drugs are scanty, disease control remains a cornerstone to prevent fractures. Nonetheless, some potential protective effects may derive from vitamin D supplementation and pasireotide therapies, independently from disease status. Aim of this manuscript is to review the current and emerging evidence on skeletal fragility in patients with active and resistant acromegaly.

Prolactinomas account for more than half of pituitary adenomas, and besides their clinical impact on fertility and gonadal function, they lead to detrimental effects on bone. Patients with prolactinoma are prone to deterioration of bone structure caused not only by prolactin (PRL) induced hypogonadism but also by its direct actions on bone cells and calcium metabolism. However, clinical studies have shown inconsistent evidence regarding whether PRL could have a deleterious effect independently from gonadal insufficiency on skeletal integrity. Seminal studies from our group reported an increased prevalence of vertebral fractures (VFs) in both female and male patients with prolactinoma. Treatment of prolactinoma with dopamine agonists can restore gonadal function and improve bone mineral density. Since the presence of VFs may be related to more aggressive disease, bone comorbidities in prolactinoma should be managed by a multidisciplinary team in line with the recent concept of 'pituitary tumors centers of excellence'. The review aims to evaluate the mechanism of PRL actions on bone, as well as to provide practical indications for a modern approach to the management of skeletal complications of patients with prolactin-secreting adenoma considering different clinical characteristics and outcomes.

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the prevalence, efficacy, and safety of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with pituitary diseases.

Methods: Observational, cross-sectional study of adult patients with pituitary diseases followed in a reference center. Clinical data were collected and a questionnaire about SARS-CoV-2 infection, vaccination and its possible adverse effects was applied. COVID-19 disease severity was defined as mild, moderate, and severe according to the WHO classification.

Results: 145 patients were studied (79 women; age 50 ± 15.8 years; duration of pituitary disease 16.8 ± 11.5 years), the cause of pituitary disease was tumoral in 74.5%, and 45.9% were on glucocorticoid replacement due to ACTH deficiency. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed in 51 patients (35.2%; 32 women; age 53.8 ± 14.8 years, 22 before vaccination), with 28 (54.9%), 17 (33.3%) and 6 (11.8%) cases of mild, moderate, and severe disease, respectively, and hospitalization was indicated in 7 (14%) cases. One mild case presented pituitary apoplexy after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Advanced age was a risk factor for COVID-19. Patients with moderate and severe forms of COVID-19 had higher prevalence of dyslipidemia and duration of pituitary disease. All but one of the participants were vaccinated against COVID-19, and 60.4% had adverse events, the most common local pain (54.0%), fever (33.3%), and headache (18.4%), with one case of alopecia and two of persistent fatigue.

Conclusion: The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in our cohort was 35.2%, including 14% of moderate and severe cases requiring hospitalization. The vaccination was universal and safe.

Hypopituitarism is a rare but significant endocrine disorder characterized by the inadequate secretion of one or more pituitary hormones. The intricate relationship between hypopituitarism and bone health is a topic of growing interest in the medical community. In this review the authors explore associations between hypopituitarism and bone health, with specific examination of the impact of growth hormone deficiency, central hypogonadism, central hypocortisolism, and central hypothyroidism. Pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment options as well as challenges posed by osteopenia, osteoporosis, and fractures in hypopituitarism are discussed.

Purpose: Bone health is often impaired in patients with hormone-secreting pituitary tumors. Since medical therapy is central to their care, understanding how its use impacts on this is highly important.

Methods: This review summarizes a systemmatic review of the literature on the effects of medical therapies for hormone-secreting pituitary tumors on bone.

Results: In acromegaly, medical therapy lowers bone turnover marker (BTM) levels, consistent with correction of the high bone turnover of active disease, and overall, areal bone mineral density (aBMD) does not change or increases. Somatostatin-receptor ligand (SRL) and pegvisomant-treated acromegaly patients have persistently reduced volumetric BMD and microarchitectural abnormalities of the peripheral skeleton, deficits that are similar to those in surgically-treated patients. Fracture risk remains elevated in medically-treated acromegaly patients but in conjunction with biochemical control the risk is lessened. Treatment of prolactin-secreting tumors with dopamine agonists is associated with improvements in aBMD, but this does not always fully normalize despite effective medical treatment of the prolactinoma. In one cross-sectional study, prolactinoma patients had lower total volumetric BMD and impaired microarchitecture suggesting that bone microstructure does not fully normalize despite dopamine agonist therapy. Cross-sectional studies show a high rate of VF in patients with prolactin-secreting tumors that is lowered on cabergoline therapy, but still the fracture rate of men and postmenopausal women is higher than that of controls in some studies. Studies on the effects of modern-day medical therapy for Cushing's disease on bone are lacking.

Conclusion: More research is needed on the effectsof medical therapies for hormone secreting pituitary tumors on bone health.

An effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was the disruption of healthcare systems, especially surgical services provided to the community. Pituitary surgery was especially impacted, given the majority of cases were deemed non-urgent with very few exceptions, and the high risk of viral transmission conferred by the endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach. Patients suffering from pituitary lesions with resultant endocrinopathy or visual symptoms saw their treatment delayed or altered, which had implications on their outcomes and care. This disruption extended to surgical training and the usual functioning of academic units, necessitating changes to curricula and implementation of novel methods of progressing surgical education. This review will explore the effect of the COVID pandemic on pituitary surgery, the experiences of various surgeons as well as the adaptations implemented on the frontlines. The lessons learned from the experience of the pandemic may assist specialists in gleaning insights regarding the care of patients in the future.

Long COVID is a novel emerging syndrome known to affect multiple health areas in patients previously infected by SARS-CoV-2 markedly impairing their quality of life. The pathophysiology of Long COVID is still largely poorly understood and multiple mechanisms were proposed to underlie its occurrence, including alterations in the hormonal hypothalamic-pituitary axes. Aim of this review is to present and discuss the potential negative implications of these hormonal dysfunctions in promoting and influencing the Long COVID syndrome. To date, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is the mostly investigated and several studies have reported a prolonged impairment leading to mild and subclinical forms of central adrenal insufficiency. Few data are also available regarding central hypogonadism, central hypothyroidism and growth hormone (GH) deficiency. A high prevalence of central hypogonadism in COVID-19 survivors several months after recovery was consistently reported in different cohorts. Conversely, very few data are available on the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis function that was mainly shown to be preserved in COVID-19 survivors. Finally, a potential impairment of the hypothalamic-GH axis in Long COVID has also been reported. These data altogether may suggest a novel possible pituitary-centred pathophysiological view of Long COVID syndrome which if confirmed by large clinical studies may have relevant implication for the diagnostic and therapeutic approach at least in a subset of patients with the syndrome.

Pituitary hormones play a crucial role in regulating skeletal physiology, and skeletal fragility is a frequent complication of pituitary diseases. The ability to predict the risk of fracture events is crucial for guiding therapeutic decisions; however, in patients with pituitary diseases, fracture risk estimation is particularly challenging. Compared to primary osteoporosis, the evaluation of bone mineral density by dual X-ray absorptiometry is much less informative about fracture risk. Moreover, the reliability of standard fracture risk calculators does not have strong validations in this setting. Morphometric vertebral assessment is currently the cornerstone in the assessment of skeletal fragility in patients with pituitary diseases, as prevalent fractures remain the strongest predictor of future fracture events. In recent years, new tools for evaluating bone quality have shown promising results in assessing bone impairment in patients with pituitary diseases, but most available data are cross-sectional, and evidence regarding the prediction of incident fractures is still scarce. Of note, apart from measures of bone density and bone quality, the estimation of fracture risk in the context of pituitary hyperfunction or hypofunction cannot ignore the evaluation of factors related to the underlying disease, such as its severity and duration, as well as the specific therapies implemented for its treatment. Aim of this review is to provide an up-to-date overview of all major evidence regarding fracture risk prediction in patients with pituitary disease, highlighting the need for a tailored approach that critically integrates all clinical, biochemical, and instrumental data according to the specificities of each disease.