Eleven previously nonoperated patients with suspected pituitary microadenomas were scanned on a 1.5-T GE system before and after administration of IV gadolinium-DTPA (0.1 mmol/kg). Six patients had Cushing disease, four had hyperprolactinemia, and one had acromegaly. Surgical confirmation was available in all cases, and these findings were correlated with results of CT and venous sampling, when...

INTRODUCTION Early and precise diagnosis is necessary in successful treatment of the patients with Cushing's disease. Transsphenoidal surgery is the first line treatment option in Cushing's disease. In patients in whom magnetic resonance imaging does not visualise pituitary adenoma patient selection for surgical treatment should be based on convincing results of functional tests. OBJECTIVES T...

OBJECTIVE To describe the etiology, functional status and short term outcome of patients with pituitary lesions (PL). METHODS Brain or pituitary MRI reports of 3753 patients were analyzed for PL over the period of 2000 to 2007, done at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, Pakistan. MRIs with reported PL and all those ordered by Endocrinologists with or without pituitary abnormali...

ACTH-dependent Cushing's disease (CD) is a condition characterized by pituitary hypersecretion of ACTH, leading to adrenal cortisol upregulation. Hypercortisolism has long-term complications, notably metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis, name few. The incidence CD approximately 1-2 cases per million. ACTH can be secreted macroadenomas microadenomas, in some cases, ectopi...

BACKGROUND There are few studies of the incidence and clinical characteristics of pituitary apoplexy (PA) in pituitary adenoma patients, and the findings have been inconsistent. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to retrospectively assess the incidence, clinical presentation, surgical management and postoperative complications of PA in pituitary adenoma patients. METHODS A database was spec...

PURPOSE Transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) is the primary treatment modality for Cushing's disease (CD). However, the predictors of post-operative remission and recurrence remain debatable. Thus, we studied the post-operative remission and long-term recurrence rates, as well as their respective predictive factors. METHODS A retrospective analysis of case records of 230 CD patients who underwent pr...

SUNCT (short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attack with conjunctival injection and tearing) syndrome was first defined by Sjaastad et al. in 1978. Since then, several studies on this topic have been published. The International Classification of Headache Disorders currently places it in the trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias subgroup. Although it is considered a primary headache in mos...

In this article, the present status of neurosurgical operations for Cushing's disease is briefly reviewed. Transsphenoidal surgery is considered the treatment of choice in most patients with Cushing's disease once the diagnosis has been established. In a considerable proportion of patients, even sophisticated imaging does not directly depict the tiny microadenoma. The search for the tumor is te...