The pituitary microadenoma is bulkyeducation, which is considered benign. Typically, the size of such education are small and do not exceed one centimeter. Experts also call this process hyperplasia of the pituitary glands. The pituitary microadenoma (the ICD attributes the code D35-2 to it) is considered an intrasellar type of normal adenoma. When the endosellar form of the tumor goes beyond the pituitary gland, strongly squeezing the surrounding areas. Cystic type is able to transform into malignant form.
Types of microadenomas and its symptoms
Mikroadenoma, even despite itssmall size, and at the same time, good quality, can suppress or, on the contrary, stimulate a significant production of pituitary hormones. Two such conditions in medicine are called hormone-active or inactive pituitary microadenoma.
Hormonally active microadenomasseveral types of hormones are produced at once. Among them, prolactinomas are often found, which occurs in thirty percent of cases. Somatotropinomas or corticotropinomas can be observed less often.
Obvious Pituitary Microadenoma Symptomsthere are usually no women who would indicate a disease until the tumor has gone beyond the limits of the pituitary gland and is reborn into a different type of adenoma. The indirect symptoms of the disease, due to their similarity with the signs of other diseases, do not always serve as the basis for this diagnosis.
Due to the physiological characteristics of microadenomaspituitary gland for many years, early diagnosis was impossible. The reason for this was that X-ray examinations were the only diagnostic method. But x-ray images never showed the presence of the disease. Only when the tumor grew in size, provoking the asymmetry of the pituitary gland, was it possible to detect it. Subsequently, the detection of a tumor after it has already been transformed into pituitary macroadenoma and the symptoms have already appeared, greatly complicated the treatment.
The growth of the tumor outside the areas of locationpituitary, especially its vertical growth, can damage the hypothalamic structure. Thanks to the latest technologies like magnetic resonance imaging, early diagnosis of microadenomas has become possible. People, feeling in their body certain abnormalities, can consult a doctor. Most often, doctors refer patients for an MRI. Conducting timely diagnosis allows you to prevent further development of the disease along with the occurrence of complications. Treatment is most often carried out in a conservative manner.
Prolactinoma as a female type of tumor and its symptoms
The severity of symptoms depends ontype of pituitary microadenoma. In twenty-five percent of cases, the tumor is hormonally inactive. With this type of symptoms of the disease is practically absent. But in cases of hormonally active nature, a number of atypical structural changes in the body can be observed. Consider them further. So, one of such structural changes in the microadenoma is prolactinoma.
Most often prolactinoma occurs in women.Prolactin is a hormone that stimulates milk production and inhibits ovulation. Symptoms of pituitary microadenoma in women are such that, against the background of high prolactin levels, fluid can be released from the breast. This is an alarming factor requiring immediate medical attention. Changing the amount of prolactin also leads to violations of the menstruation cycle and, as a result, leads to infertility.
It is important to recognize the symptoms of pituitary microadenoma in a timely manner.
In the event that a high level of prolactin wasfound on the background of pregnancy, the patient should be constantly monitored by her doctor. Breast feeding immediately after childbirth in most situations will be contraindicated. The fact is that because of the need to use drugs lactation can harm a child. In addition, a woman should be alerted by the unreasonable increase in body weight. As for men, they have a high level of prolactin is the reason for the development of impotence.
What is dangerous pituitary microadenoma, consider in more detail below.
Somatotropinoma and its symptoms
In the presence of somatotropinomas in the bodyexcess amounts of growth hormone is produced, leading to acromegaly. Due to certain physiological features in adults and children, the symptoms are different. In adolescents and children, this disease will manifest itself by excessive growth in body length. Adults suffer from an increase in feet and hands, their fingers thicken, and facial features can become rough and puffy. This is due to the fact that the growth zone is already closed, so soft tissue is undergoing pathological changes.
Acromegaly can also threaten secondarydiabetes, and in addition, arterial hypertension. Galls that are formed on the bones are able to further transform into a malignant tumor. In addition to muscle and bone changes, pathological processes occur in the internal organs. Such patients often suffer from a disease of the respiratory tract, digestive system and genital organs.
Symptoms of Corticotropinomas
Corticotropinoma causes disease in humansCushing, which is provoked by excessive production of adrenocorticotropic hormones that are produced by the adrenal glands. The patient may suffer from muscle atrophy. This leads to weakness of the limbs, which become thin. Against the background of pathology, fat is distributed unevenly in the body and is mainly deposited in the abdomen. Human skin is not ready for such a tension, which leads to stretch marks more than one centimeter thick. A person's face may take a moon-like shape, while his cheeks turn red. Often, these patients develop hypertension along with diabetes. Mental abnormalities are also not excluded.
Gonadotropinoma and its symptoms
This type of pituitary microadenoma affectsreproductive functions of the body, regardless of gender, which often leads to female infertility due to the termination of the menstrual cycles. Among men, this type of microadenoma also causes infertility due to a decrease in the number of sperm and a deterioration in its quality, besides, the size of the testicles decreases in men with this disease.
Symptoms of thyrotropinoma
In the presence of thyrotropinomy thyroid stronglysecretes thyroid-stimulating hormones, which leads to nodular goiter, and in addition, to thyrotoxicosis, which is the cause of rapid weight loss, tachycardia and other disorders of the heart. In general, against the background of this disease, endocrine and metabolic processes are disturbed in humans.
Hormonally active forms of microadenomasThe present time, subject to timely detection, is rather successfully treated. But in case of neglect of treatment, such a tumor is able to actively grow and degenerate into a cancer, leading to irreversible processes, such as, for example, loss of vision.
Before we talk about the treatment of symptoms of pituitary microadenoma in women, consider its diagnosis.
Conducting diagnostics
If there are symptoms indicatingthe patient has microadenomas, the doctor prescribes an additional examination, which refutes or, on the contrary, confirms the diagnosis. In case of confirmation of the diagnosis, it is required first of all to determine the type along with the degree of development of the neoplasm by means of the following types of diagnostics:
- Delivery of tests that determine the patient's hormonal state.
- Conducting magnetic resonance and computertomography. These are the most effective methods of diagnosis today, which give a complete picture of the disease, and in addition, any changes in the structure of the pituitary gland. For example, diffuse and heterogeneous structure indicates the presence of the disease.
- Performing radiography.Often, with a small tumor size, this diagnostic technique is ineffective. But on the background of significant tumor size, such an X-ray study can be very informative.
Treatment of pituitary microadenoma
Therapy is selected depending on the type of tumor.Hormone-inactive microadenoma often does not cause any concern. Patients are advised to undergo regular medical check-ups in order not to miss the transformation of the tumor into another type. This should also be done because the tumor may increase in size over time. In the presence of a hormonally active tumor, endocrinologists, together with oncologists and surgeons, resort to the following treatment options:
- Conducting conservative treatment through the use of hormone-regulating drugs.
- Surgery to remove microadenomas.
- Conducting radiation therapy.
Консервативному лечению микроаденомы гипофиза respond well in the case of prolactinomas. Conducting drug therapy involves the use of hormonal drugs like "Cabergoline", "Parlodel" and "Dostinex". Regular use of them for a couple of years in most examples eliminates the disease, and prolactin is reduced to normal values.
In the presence of somatotropinomas and thyrotropinomas alsohormonal preparations are prescribed, for example “Somatostatin” or its analogues. In addition, tereostatics can be prescribed. But very often the treatment of pituitary microadenomas in women with hormones may not give a lasting effect, and therefore it is often combined with surgical intervention to remove the tumor.
Проведение хирургического вмешательства при pituitary microadenoma patients are required in cases of impossibility of cure through the use of conservative treatment. However, thanks to modern technology, operations of this kind are carried out with almost no painlessness and traumatic risk. The operation uses an endoscopic technique in which a tumor is removed through the nasal passage. Patients then recover quickly, which is a huge advantage of this technique.
It is well known that radiation therapy is oneof the main methods of treating oncology. Modern medicine is increasingly used radiosurgery method for the treatment of pituitary microadenoma. Radiosurgery or radiation surgery makes it possible without a knife to directly act on a tumor by means of radiation without affecting healthy tissues. Immediately after irradiation, the tumor cells die, which leads to a decrease in the size of the tumor. This type of treatment is often combined with hormone therapy if the tumor is hormonally active.
We will understand what is dangerous pituitary microadenoma.
What are the consequences for women?
Ignoring this problem can lead tothe fact that in the end the hormonal background will move in the direction of overproduction of this or that hormone. For a woman's body, such hormonal cascades may be fraught with a number of the following complications:
- The development of infertility.
- The emergence of an imbalance of hormones, leading to too rapid aging of the skin.
- The presence of persistent menstrual dysfunction.
- The appearance of obesity in women.
- Flabbiness and dry skin along with progressive aging.
- The occurrence of epileptic seizures due to compression of the structure adjacent to the pituitary gland.
- The emergence of psychological problems amid all of the above factors.
- On the background of uncontrolled growth and increase in the pituitary microadenoma, pathologies of vision may appear, and as a result the onset of total blindness is not excluded.
We reviewed the symptoms of the treatment of pituitary microadenoma in women.
Forecast
As a rule, the prognosis regarding treatmentmicroadenomas are optimistic. This disease can be cured today. Whatever method is chosen to treat the pituitary microadenoma, the prognosis will depend on the fulfillment of all medical recommendations, since ignoring the therapy often leads to irreversible consequences.
Pregnancy
Often there are situations in whichthe occurrence of pregnancy due to microadenoma is impossible. This is primarily due to the development of hormonal imbalance and suppression of ovulation. All these factors lead to the fact that fertilization becomes impossible in the end.
Another common situation isa circumstance in which the diagnosis of a hormone-active neoplasm occurs precisely during the carrying of a child. Such a deviation occurs due to a serious change in the body and its restructuring due to pregnancy. In addition, the increased load on the pituitary gland can affect the appearance of the pituitary microadenoma of the brain.
During pregnancy planning followsconsult an endocrinologist. Most often, doctors recommend conceiving immediately after a year of treatment in order not to put health with the woman’s life at serious risk. In this case, immediately after treatment, the expectant mother undergoes a thorough examination and, if there are satisfactory results, becomes pregnant. During the gestation period, the physician should be visited regularly by the doctor in order to control the state of the tumor, as a relapse is possible. The prognosis of pituitary microadenoma is already known.
Thus, timely and competent treatment,usually leads to absolute recovery, with the exception of some rare relapses of the disease. In general, as already noted, the prognosis is favorable. But in the event that the body has already had an irreversible visual defect or some endocrine-metabolic disturbance, then patients with pituitary adenoma may have a lifelong disability.
The article presented the symptoms of pituitary microadenoma in women, treatment and prognosis.
