In:
Acta Endocrinologica, Oxford University Press (OUP), Vol. 122, No. 5 ( 1990-05), p. 664-670
Abstract:
We studied the neurohypophyseal function of 20 patients with complete GH deficiency owing to pituitary stalk transection by means of the water deprivation and the hypertonic saline infusion test. In TI-weighted magnetic resonance images, high-signal intensity of the posterior lobe of the hypophysis was missing in all the patients. An ectopic posterior lobe was observed at the proximal stump of the transected stalk in 17 patients, whereas the 3 patients without ectopic posterior lobe had overt diabetes insipidus or intractable nocturnal enuresis. After water deprivation, 3 patients with large ectopic posterior lobes (length along the pituitary stalk axis exceeding 5 mm) showed urinary osmolality and plasma AVP levels as high as those of 13 patients with partial GH deficiency in whom magnetic resonance images revealed no abnormalities. On the other hand, 14 patients with small ectopic posterior lobes (length less than 5 mm) showed significantly lower urinary osmolality and plasma AVP levels than the patients with large ectopic posterior lobes (p 〈 0.01 and p 〈 0.01, respectively) and the patients with partial GH deficiency (p 〈 0.01 and p 〈 0.01, respectively). Urinary osmolality in the patients with small ectopic posterior lobes, however, was higher than that in 3 patients without ectopic posterior lobes (p 〈 0.01). During the hypertonic saline infusion test, peak plasma AVP levels in the patients with small ectopic posterior lobes were significantly lower than those in the patients with partial GH deficiency (p 〈 0.01). These findings suggest that the remaining neurohypophyseal function in patients with transected pituitary stalk correlates with the size of the ectopic posterior lobe, and that partial diabetes insipidus may be the diagnosis in some of the patients with small ectopic posterior lobes.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0804-4643
,
1479-683X
DOI:
10.1530/acta.0.1220664
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publication Date:
1990
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1485160-X
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