Endocrine morbidity in adults treated with cerebral irradiation for brain tumours during childhood.
Abstract
Hypothalamic-pituitary function was assessed in 20 adult subjects who were treated with cerebral irradiation for brain tumours during childhood between 8 and 32 years earlier. Nine patients showed impaired growth hormone (GH) responses to hypoglycaemia, of whom, 7 are below the third centile for standing height. All GH deficient subjects received more than 2950 rads to the hypothalamic-pituitary axis with a maximum dose of approximately 5000 rads being used in one case. Three subjects have an elevated basal serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level and 2 of these show an exaggerated TSH response to thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH) but no patient was clinically or biochemically hypothyroid. The rest of hypothalamic-pituitary function was essentially normal. This study shows that multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies do no develop with time when the radiation dose is below a critical level. Thus it appears that there is a gradation of radiation damage to the hypothalamic-pituitary axis which is dependent primarily on the dose received rather than the time interval after radiotherapy.Citation
Endocrine morbidity in adults treated with cerebral irradiation for brain tumours during childhood. 1977, 84 (4):673-80 Acta EndocrinolJournal
Acta EndocrinologicaPubMed ID
403723Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
0001-5598Related articles
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