ENDOCRINE DISORDERS
The pituitary gland, in the brain, produces hormones that control the function of other endocrine glands in the body. It regulates and monitors their normal hormone production. For example, the adrenal glands produce cortisone according to the amount of the stimulating hormone ACTH from the pituitary gland. This is also the case with the thyroid and sex glands.
Sometimes the pituitary gland enlarges because of a tumor. The result may be an excess of one hormone, pressure on the brain, or pressure on the optic nerves. A loss of vision may result if the tumor is not discovered and treated in time. Occasionally, the gland may not produce enough of a certain hormone, and a hormone deficiency disease results. If, for instance, the thyroid stimulating hormone is not produced, you may develop hypothyroidism. Although this illness mimics the other, more common, type of hypothyroidism due to disease of the thyroid gland itself, diagnosis is facilitated because other pituitary hormones may also be deficient. The function of the pituitary gland is determined by special blood tests that measure the production of the stimulating hormones.
The four small glands just behind the thyroid gland, known as the parathyroid glands, regulate the amount of calcium and phosphorus in the blood. The balance of these substances depends on the amount received in the diet, lost by the kidneys, and stored in the bones. Parathyroid hormone (parathormone) governs the interaction of the food absorption, bone formation, and loss of calcium and phosphorus through the urine, to control the amount of calcium and phosphorus in the blood. If the parathyroid glands become overactive you may develop excess amounts of calcium in your blood and urine. The symptoms include mental confusion, the need to pass large amounts of urine, the formation of kidney stones, and pain in the bones. Ulcer disease of the stomach can also occur with this disease.
The diagnosis is often difficult because these endocrine disorders are unusual in older people. A raised calcium level may be found by chance during routine blood tests. If no other symptoms are present, blood tests every few months will show whether the calcium level is becoming unduly high. If, however, you have symptoms of parathyroid hormone excess, the parathyroid glands must be removed surgically. In general, the outlook for this surgery is very good.
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