Head injury and hypopituitarism

[MeSci]

The BBC Radio 4 programme 'Inside Health' had an item on this last night. It is repeated today and can be downloaded - at least in the UK. I think the item was near the end. There are some good links on the programme page:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rr37c

At least one linked page includes reference to diabetes insipidus, saying that it usually improves. So much for my 'top endocrinologist' who swore that you had to be born with DI to have it, and that it was an all-or-nothing condition (no variability, no possibility of it being partial). Even I knew from a little research that that was wrong.

I suffered brief concussion in the early 80s following a fall, and have often wondered whether that contributed to some of my later problems. I don't recall any health problems starting around that time, but effects can be delayed.

A significant effect of minor brain injury is chronic adrenal insufficiency.

One linked page includes a complaint about the major UK health service body NICE neglecting hypopituitarism. Sound familiar...?

 

[Little Bluestem]

I was able to download this from the US.

 

[Enid]

Thanks MeSci - it is refreshing to follow Mark Porter - follows up to date research and is open minded, unlike a some others we suffer from here in the UK.

 

[MeSci]

Thanks MeSci - it is refreshing to follow Mark Porter - follows up to date research and is open minded, unlike a some others we suffer from here in the UK.

I have generally approved of Mark Porter's broadcasting, but an item on one programme last year appalled me. It was about - 'functional disorders'...

You can read the transcript here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n65zl?oo=0

(scroll down about a third of the way)

or listen to the programme.

You may need something ready to calm you down afterwards...

If you listen to it you can hear the ghastly patronising manner of the 'expert'.

 

[Enid]

Oh dear MeSci - even he much to learn yet, and I never expect much in the current medical climate here but the subject matter here is interesting.

 

[MishMash]

Head injuries can cause collapse or damage to the pituitary gland. Which can be seen in a scan (sometimes). This usually correlates, but not always, to symptoms of low pituitary function.

But the number of people who have collapsed pituitary gland, and hence low pituitary function, due to accidents, head injuries is tiny compared to the number who get it idiopathically. Collapsed, or disappearing, pituitary gland is known as "empty sella syndrome," because the gland sits naturally in a bone cavity called "the sella."

ESS is very common among CFS patients BTW. Before he left, Cort did an interesting feature on this for PR. A number of members posted they had ESS. Cort himself said the radiologist noted that his pituitary gland had disaappeared. One of the things he was recommending as a CFS spokesman was further research into this.

The chances for getting ESS go up markedly as age increases. Intracranial hypertension (too much brain fluid pressure) is usually cited as the reason for young people getting it. Too much brain fluid pressure has been associated with connective tissue weakness (or Ehlers-Danlos) since the cerebral ducts are weak and floppy, and get kinked and clogged easily. So the fluid just keeps building up in your cranium. Which leads to lower blood flow to the brain, if the theory is correct.

Some people go as far as putting in shunts. I've done quite a bit of research on this, and the shunts rarely result in reduction in symptoms, from what I've read. The doctor at "prettyill.com" has recommended taking diuretics to reduce cerebral brain fluid amounts; hence reducing pressure on the brains, and lowering frequency of headaches.