Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) And Multiple Hormone Evaluation In Children With Panhypopituitarism

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: With the development of the socialeconomical and medical care, more and more people began to pay attention to height. The pituitary gland functions as a relay between the hypothalamus and peripheral target organs that regulate basic physiological functions, including growth, the stress response, reproduction, metabolism and lactation. Thus, careful screening of pituitary function and hypothalamic-pituitary MRI scan should always be performed in children patients with panhypopituitarism(PHP) or multiple pituitary hormone deficiency(MPHD). Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) was one major reason of short stature. Recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) has been used to treat GHD since 1980s and was verified to be effective and safe. 50% patients with GHD often suffer from more than one other pituitary hormone deficiency. So that it is important to explore the diagnostic value of pituitary MRI imaging and evaluation of multiple pituitary hormone.METHODS: We prospectively studied 90 patients with multiple hormone deficiencies, who underwent MRI scan and endocrinological examinations. of whom 8 patients underwent surgical intervention of craniopharyngioma, and 19 patients had breech or footling birth history. Hypothalamic-pituitary changes were observed by MRI scan. The Serum levels of free-thyroxine (fT4), cortisol(F), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin (PRL),testosterone (To), and...