part of the body that regulates most hormones. Some of these pituitary tumors produce excessive
hormones, which regulate important body functions, while others restrict some of the normal
functions of your pituitary gland, thus decreasing hormone production. Around 20% of the
human race have pituitary tumors. A lot of these tumors do not cause symptoms and are never
diagnosed during a person's lifetime.
Most pituitary tumors are benign, which means that they are non-cancerous.
Pituitary adenomas are defined as: "a benign tumor formed from the glandular structures in
the epithelial tissue" and are confined to the pituitary gland and surrounding …show more content…
Around 80% of patients' prolactin levels were restored to
normal with cabergoline and many will have marked tumor shrinkage, making
surgery unnecessary. The drugs octreotide or pegvisomant can help to control the production of
growth hormone and are used in conjunction with surgery and recurrent tumors.To control the
production of adrenocorticotropic (ACTH), the drugs ketoconazole, mitotane, and
aminoglutethimide may be prescribed.
Again, we are back to the fact that pituitary tumors are very easily treated. The most
serious complication that can occur is blindness, which happens if the optic nerve
is severely damaged. At this time, no one knows the reason that the uncontrolled cell growth
causes a tumor in the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is small and about the size of a bean
and is located at the base of the brain. The gland might be small, but it influences your whole
body. It produces hormones for growth, blood pressure, and reproduction. Most of these tumors
have no known hereditary factor, but a small percentage of cases run in families. Scientists
suspect that heredity plays an important role in how the pituitary tumor