The pituitary gland, the epicenter of various regulatory hormones, plays an unquestionably important role in determining timely growth and sexual maturation. Indeed, multiple studies have examined the role of Growth Hormone (GH) and Gonadotrophic Releasing Hormone (GnRH) in treating delayed and precocious puberty respectively.[1] Research has shown the importance of imaging the pituitary gland in patients with growth disturbances and/or documented endocrine abnormalities, in differentiating and classifying disorders based on etiology, prognosis and management.[2] Currently, data are limited in identifying a correlation between bone age abnormalities and pituitary findings via MRI, in children diagnosed with deviations in pubertal development. We present a comprehensive review of common structural abnormalities affecting the pituitary as seen on MRI – including developmental (dysgenesis/hypoplasia), traumatic, and neoplastic processes (both benign and malignant) – and how those pituitary lesions correlate with bone age and endocrine function in patients with growth failure and precocious puberty. Establishing a correlation between a patient’s endocrine profile, bone age and pituitary morphology on MRI imaging can be extremely useful in the judicious management of patients, in terms of patient selection, early diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, our review aims to highlight the importance of imaging in the workup of patients with known or suspected growth disturbances, illustrated via concept maps. The concordance of endocrine abnormalities and clinical information (including age, sex and ethnicity demographics) with imaging data will also be reviewed to demonstrate various patterns of disease presentation and diagnosis. <u><b>References:</b></u> [1] Du X.F., Yang X.H., Li J., Hao M., Guo Y.H. Growth hormone co-treatment within a gnrh agonist long protocol improves implantation and pregnancy rates in patients undergoing IVF-ET. Arch. Gynecol. Obstet. 2016;294:877–883. doi: 10.1007/s00404-016-4163-1. [2] Di Iorgi N, Iorgi ND, Allegri AEM et al (2012) The use of neuroimaging for assessing disorders of pituitary development. Clin Endocrinol 76:161–176 Read More

Meeting name: SPR 2019 Annual Meeting & Postgraduate Course , 2019

Authors: Rai Aayushi, Gupta Rachita, Setty Bindu

Keywords: Puberty, Pituitary abnormalities