Pituitary Dysfunction in Systemic Disorders

The pituitary gland may be affected by a wide variety of systemic disorders. The pituitary could be directly involved by the same processes that affect other organs (e.g., inflammatory, autoimmune, or infectious disorders), or the primary disease process may elicit indirect, distant effects on pituitary-hypothalamic hormonal function. Changes in pituitary function associated with a multitude of systemic diseases (both frequent and more rare ones) include pituitary granulomas, Langerhans histiocytosis, Erdheim-Chester disease, autoimmune, and infectious diseases. Detailed changes in pituitary morphology and function are also related to aging, obesity, and general effects of systemic illnesses and these include anorexia nervosa, chronic kidney disease, and liver failure leading to pituitary hormonal dysfunction.