Pituitary tumors are a group of tumors arising from the anterior and posterior pituitary lobes and the epithelial remnants of the craniopharyngeal canal. Clinically significant symptoms account for approximately 10% of intracranial tumors. Slightly more common in men than women, pituitary tumors usually occur in young adulthood and often affect patients’ growth and development, reproductive function, learning and work ability. The clinical manifestations are as follows: 1. Hormone secretion abnormal syndrome Hormone overproduction syndrome, such as growth hormone overproduction causing acromegaly; hormone underproduction syndrome. Amenorrhea due to reduced gonadotropin secretion when non-functional tumors increase in size and normal pituitary tissue suffers damage. Infertility or impotence often occurs earliest and is more common.
2.Tumor compression of peripituitary tissues (1) Nerve fiber irritation.
(2) Compression of optic nerve, optic cross and optic nerve bundle Patients present with loss of vision, visual field defects and fundus changes; other compression syndromes.
Pituitary stroke is an acute neuroendocrine lesion caused by the sudden onset of intra-tumoral hemorrhage, infarction and necrosis of pituitary tumors, resulting in the expansion of the tumor. The clinical manifestation of acute pituitary stroke mainly depends on the direction of tumor expansion and the degree of hemorrhage and pituitary destruction. The patient may have cerebral edema and marked increase in intracranial pressure.
The former is due to the destruction of pituitary secretory cells, while the latter is due to the lack of pituitary stimulation caused by hypothalamic lesions.