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Welcome to the new Cushing's Help and Support FAQ (frequently asked questions) page. This new area will be a compilation of our visitors most frequent questions. Questions and answers are still being added.

Please select either a category on the left, or type in a keyword to search the database of questions and answers. Please note that there are several questions waiting to be answered at this time. Your question will be answered as soon as possible. If your question is very urgent, you might want to check the message boards to see if your question has been answered, or add it yourself.

IMPORTANT: The information and material posted on this Web site is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation.



Pituitary     List of Categories

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  • What is a Rathke's cleft cyst?

    Rathke's cleft cyst (RCC) is a remnant of Rathke's pouch in the pituitary often persists as a cleft that lies within the pituitary gland. It is usually present at birth.

    More about Rathke's cleft

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  • What is empty sella?

    Empty sella syndrome is common in women who are overweight or have high blood pressure. Characterized by an enlarged bony structure (sella turcica) that houses the pituitary gland at the base of the brain, the disorders sometimes results in high fluid pressure inside the skull. The pituitary gland is usually normal size or small.

    More on Empty Sella

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  • What is a pituitary adenoma?

    Pituitary adenomas cause most cases of Cushing's syndrome. They are benign, or non-cancerous, tumors of the pituitary gland which secrete increased amounts of ACTH. Most patients have a single adenoma. This form of the syndrome, known as "Cushing's disease", affects women five times more frequently than men.

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  • What is a prolactinoma?

    A prolactinoma is a pituitary tumor which causes breast milk production and other symptoms similar to menopause in women. Men with prolactinomas typically have headaches or lose their peripheral vision. About two-thirds of men lose their interest in sex and become impotent. The tumor is benign (non-cancerous) over 99% of the time. It is the most common of all pituitary tumors (28%). The cause of the tumor is unknown.

    Symptoms of prolactinoma

    • Reduction in sex drive (libido)
    • Pain during intercourse; vaginal dryness
    • Visual field disturbances
    • Unexplained weight gain
    • Mood changes
    • Male hypogonadism
    • Milk discharge from nipples
    • Headaches
    • Changes in or loss of menstrual cycle
    • Infertility
    • Fractures from osteoporosis
    • Delayed puberty

    Read an article about prolactinoma

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  • What are the benefits and limitations of medical treatment for a protactinoma?

    Medical therapy is usually more effective than surgery for this tumor type, particularly for large tumors (macroadenoma, > 10 mm). In patients with large tumors, surgery results in normal prolactin levels in < 20% of patients. Surgery is effective in removing the bulk of the tumor, but prolactin levels remain elevated; surgery does not produce a "cure". In this situation, medical treatment is indicated. In patients who have a small tumor (< 10 mm), the chances of a "cure" with surgery are greater, on the order of 80% to 90%. However, even with successful surgery, there is a risk of recurrence of the tumor at a later date (months, years); approximately 13% to 20% of patients have a recurrence of elevated prolactin within 5 years of surgery.

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  • Are Pituitary Adenomas Hereditary?

    In order for an individual to inherit a disorder from his or her parents, the gene change needs to have occurred in a reproductive cell (the sperm or the egg). If a gene change that leads to the formation of a pituitary tumor occurs in a pituitary cell, that change will not be passed on to his or her children.

    There are several syndromes which are inherited (the gene change is in the reproductive cells) that can include pituitary tumors as part of the diagnosis. Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1. Abbreviated MEN-1, a condition involving tumors of the pituitary gland, parathyroid gland, and the pancreas, is a familial syndrome. Nearly half of all individuals diagnosed with MEN-1 will develop a pituitary adenoma, most of which are Prolactinoma's. MEN-1 is considered a dominant disorder since a change in only one copy of the MEN-1 gene will cause the disease. Because of this, an individual diagnosed with MEN-1 will have a 50% chance of passing the altered gene on to his or her children. Those children that do get the altered MEN-1 gene will have roughly a 50% chance of developing a pituitary tumor as a part of MEN-1. Individuals with Carney Complex, which is another dominant disorder, can also develop pituitary adenomas. Approximately 20% of Carney Complex patients will develop growth hormone-secreting tumors.

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  • I'm told I might have a pituitary tumor. I don't even know where the pituitary is :( Can you help?

    The pituitary gland is a pea-sized organ located at the base of the brain, just above the roof of the mouth behind the nasal cavity. It is connected to a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which is important in the regulation of pituitary gland function. Most pituitary adenomas arise in the part of the gland known as the anterior pituitary. The anterior pituitary comprises approximately two-thirds of the entire gland and is composed of five different types of cells. Each cell type makes one or two specific hormones that are released into the bloodstream and are transported to various organs throughout the body, such as the liver, adrenal glands, thyroid gland and reproductive organs. These hormones include prolactin, growth hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone (referred to as ACTH), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH). When the pituitary hormones reach their target organs, these organs are stimulated to release hormones of their own that can then travel to the hypothalamus (among other places). Depending on the needs of the body, the hypothalamus will secrete factors that either stimulate or inhibit pituitary hormone production. It is in this way that the pituitary gland, along with the hypothalamus and target organs, regulate growth, response to stress, sexual development, and many other bodily functions.

    For more information on the pituitary, see Pituitary Information - An Introduction to Pituitary Adenomas and click on the links from that page. Also, the message board, Pituitary Questions and Answers, is a good place for information.

    Best of luck to you!

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  • I first had cushings about 15 years ago lately I have been having symptoms of irritability, deep stretch marks in the bends of my elbows and bone fatigue. I have just lost 75 lbs and have become diabetic, also I have high cholesterol for the first time.

    Unfortunately, Cushing's seems to come back more often than many doctors will admit. There are several people with recurrance of Cushing's on the message boards. They each deal with this in different ways, depending on their doctors and their own feelings.

    However, it is being discovered that Cushing's patients who have had pituitary surgery may have a Growth Hormone Deficiency. If you haven't seen your endocrinologist for a while, you should express your concerns to him/her and ask if Growth Hormone testing would be a good idea in your case.

    To visit the message boards and see how others are dealing with Growth Hormone Deficiencies, click here. For the Pituitary Issues Board, click here, but please check this out with your endocrinologist!

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  • What are the chances of the tumor reoccuring even if I had a succesful surgery?

    I think that if you were to ask a number of doctors, each would give you a different answer. Some endocrinologists say 20%, some say 10%, most won't even make an estimate. This disease was too recently discovered and is too rare to have many statistics gathered yet.

    Several people currently posting on the message boards have had recurring pituitary Cushing's, so many that a new board has been set up to discuss problems with a second (or more!) surgery. You can find this new board here: Recurrences

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  • I've just been diagnosed with cushing's disease and the MRI showed a microadenoma on my right pituitary. Everything I have read about surgery says that it should be done by someone who specializes in pituitary surgeries. How do you know if the neurosurg [question truncated]

    Ask your neurosurgeon how many of these surgeries s/he has performed, and what the success rate is. Find out if the patients have been cured, or if a second surgery has been required. Generally teaching hospitals or the NIH (National Institutes of Health) in Bethesda, Maryland have the best success rates. For patient's experiences, you can check on the Cushing's Help Message Boards, especially the topics titled Pituitary Surgery and Post-Op. The boards have a Helpful Doctor area, but these doctor's names have been reformatted for the Internet, so that they are easier to find. You can find this list at Helpful Doctor List Best of luck to you with your surgery and recovery!

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