A 49-year-old woman presented with a one month history of headaches, loss of libido and galactorrhoea. She had been taking metoclopramide for the previous 3 months for reflux oesophagitis. She was found to have substantially elevated serum prolactin levels and a pituitary adenoma, which have not been previously described in a patient taking metoclopramide. The drug was stopped and the serum pro...

This particular edition is edited by Dr. Maurice Scanlon of Cardiff, a well-known figure in the field, and provides a reasonably comprehensive update of recent progress in neuroendocrinology. Among the chapter topics are the investigation of hypothalmic pituitary disease, current approaches to radiology of the region and medical and surgical management of pituitary adenomas. There is also a cha...

Until 27 April 2006, the Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb received 7 reports of amenorrhea associated with the use of olanzapine. The time to onset varies from a few weeks to 10 months. The outcome was reported in 3 cases. One patient recovered after drug withdrawal and two patients did not recover; in one patient there was a dose increase to 15 mg once daily. In case D, hyperprolacti...

Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NP-SLE) is one of the major cause of morbidity in systemic lupus erythematosus patients and its treatment depends on identification of pathogenic mechanisms. We describe the rare case of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NP-SLE) complicated by pericardial effusion combined to low C4 level persisting and hyperprolactinaemia. A cyclophos...

Prolactinomas are the commonest pituitary adenomas and the major pathological cause of hyperprolactinaemia. Symptomatic prolactinomas are treated mainly by dopamine agonists; surgery and radiotherapy are options for nonresponders. Schizophrenia treatment is based on antipsychotics, which acts mainly at serotonergic and dopaminergic systems. We report a case of a 39-year-old schizophrenic male p...

The treatment of acromegaly and hyperprolactinaemia has been improved by the availability of effective and well-tolerated slow-release somatostatin analogues and dopamine agonists with long-lasting activity, such as cabergoline. The use of these drugs has extended the possibility of treatment to patients who would have responded poorly to the previously available compounds, such as octreotide o...

SUMMARY The role of mechanical forces influencing the growth of a pituitary adenoma is poorly understood. In this paper we report the case of a young man with hyperprolactinaemia and an empty sella secondary to hydrocephalia, who developed a macroprolactinoma following the relief of high intraventricular pressure. LEARNING POINTS The volume of a pituitary tumour may be influenced not only by ...

This particular edition is edited by Dr. Maurice Scanlon of Cardiff, a well-known figure in the field, and provides a reasonably comprehensive update of recent progress in neuroendocrinology. Among the chapter topics are the investigation of hypothalmic pituitary disease, current approaches to radiology of the region and medical and surgical management of pituitary adenomas. There is also a cha...