Dear June and all,
   
  So are there really coincidences?  I just finished re-writing/studying a lecture on Pituitary dysfunctions--when I saw the adenoma subject come up on lactnet, I thought I must be hallucinating from too much studying.  
   
  So, to answer your question, I quickly re-read my notes.  I then trotted off to my handy dandy reference (that weighs more than many newborns)--Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 16th ed (2005).
   
  Quick review of pituitary gland first.  It basically acts as a trigger to tell specific organs when to produce their hormones.  Some organs that are stimulated include thyroid, adrenal gland, sex organs, kidneys, and of course, our favorite--the mammary gland.  Each target organ receives a specific hormone that is made by a specific cell line in the pituitary.
   
  A pituitary adenoma is officially supposed to be a mass that grows from one pituitary cell line.  It should be taken into account that they may have used the term adenoma and meant a mass that was in the area of the pituitary.  
   
  Anyway, the official pituitary adenoma is a monoclonal benign neoplasm, meaning that it is an overgrowth of one specific type of cell in the pituitary.
   
  This one type of cell goes nuts and grows out of control.  At this point it is either hypersecreting the stimulatory hormone normally made by that cell line, or is not a secreting anything but is squishing the pituitary and causing one or more parts of the pituitary to decrease or stop their secretion.  So a pituitary adenoma is the most common cause of BOTH hypersecretion (usually of only one pituitary hormone) and hyposecretion (usually of more than one type of hormone).  The mass could have been big or small and the size does not correlate to the amount of hormones it would secrete.  A large mass can also put pressure on nearby parts of the brain--causing visual disturbances, cranial nerve deficits and symptoms from increased intracranial pressure like headaches.
   
  You can find out if she was hyper or hypo functional in one or more pituitary hormones and how she is now.  It is possible that she was/is hypersecreting prolactin--if the hypothalamus was involved.  In that case, they would have her on a Dopamine Agonist (like bromocriptine) to inhibit prolactin or she would not be getting her period/ovulating. If her pituitary was damaged either by the adenoma, the surgery, or the radiation you will have to find out what hormones are currently functioning.  From what I have gathered, the medical establishment is keen to supplement all of the pituitary hormones except prolactin.
   
  Getting more info from the surgeon, pathology and what meds she is now taking will give lots more information.
   
  Karen Seroussi, IBCLC, MS-2
  Des Moines, IA
   

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