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. 2013 Jun;13(3):296-8.
doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.13-3-296.

Pituitary incidentaloma

Affiliations

Pituitary incidentaloma

John S Bevan. Clin Med (Lond). 2013 Jun.
No abstract available

Keywords: Pituitary incidentaloma; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); pituitary adenoma; pituitary apoplexy; prolactin.

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Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
Examples of pituitary incidentaloma. (a) Microadenoma (6 mm, arrow), revealed on MRI (coronal slice) in a 56-year-old man whose sole complaint was ‘dizziness’. Serum prolactin was raised (1,250 mU/l, normal <300) and testosterone reduced (5.2 nmol/l, normal 10–35). Both hormones normalised with low-dose dopamine agonist therapy (cabergoline). (b) Macroadenoma (18 mm, arrow), revealed on MRI (sagittal slice) in an 84-year-old man with ‘cognitive decline’. Serum IGF1 was raised (130 nmol/l, normal 7–22). The pituitary tumour shrank and sleep apnoea improved following somatostatin analogue therapy (lanreotide). IGF = insulin growth factor; MRI = magnetic resonance imaging.
Fig 2.
Fig 2.
Summary of investigation, treatment and follow-up of pituitary incidentaloma. fT4 = serum free T4, IGF1 = insulin-like growth factor 1, TSH = thyroid-stimulating hormone.
Fig 3.
Fig 3.
Pituitary apoplexy. Unenhanced MRI showing a heterogeneous and previously unsuspected pituitary mass (arrow) – histology confirmed infarction and haemorrhage within a pituitary adenoma. MRI = magnetic resonance imaging.

References

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MeSH terms