What causes pituitary tumors in the elderly

Pituitary tumor ranks third among intracranial tumors. Although pituitary tumors mostly occur in young and middle-aged people, clinical findings show that the elderly also have a certain chance of developing the disease. Therefore, after entering old age, it is also necessary to prevent the occurrence of this type of disease. What causes pituitary tumors in the elderly? Let’s take a look at the experts’ introduction.

Pituitary tumor (hypophyseoma) refers to the pituitary cell adenoma, which does not include tumors occurring beside the sella ovale or malignant tumors that metastasize to the pituitary gland from distant sites.

What causes pituitary tumors in the elderly?

1. Causes of disease

There are currently two theories about the pathogenesis of pituitary adenomas: one is the pituitary cell defect theory, and the other is the hypothalamic regulation disorder theory.

1. Hypothalamic regulatory dysfunction

(1) Hypothalamic polypeptide hormones stimulate the proliferation of pituitary cells. For example, after the GHRH gene is transplanted, it can induce the proliferation of GH-promoting cells in rats and then develop into a true pituitary tumor.

(2) The lack of inhibitory factors can also promote tumor occurrence. For example, ACTH adenoma can occur in patients with primary adrenal cortex insufficiency.

2. Theory of pituitary cell defects

(1) Pituitary adenomas arise from a single mutated cell, followed by monoclonal expansion or cell replication due to its own mutation.

(2) The intervention of external precipitating factors or the lack of inhibitory factors:

①Defects in DA (dopamine) receptor gene expression.

②The role of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes: Oncogenes are actually a type of genes involved in the regulation of normal cell growth. Some oncogene products are growth factors and their receptors, while others are involved in the transmission of growth signals within cells. Abnormalities in their expression can lead to abnormal cell proliferation.

2. Pathogenesis

The pathogenesis of pituitary tumors is still not completely clear, but the consensus is mainly concentrated on two major theories. One is the hypothalamic regulation disorder theory, which believes that the occurrence of pituitary tumors may be related to hypothalamic regulation disorder:

①Hypothalamic polypeptide hormones can promote the proliferation of pituitary cells;

②The lack of some inhibitory factors may promote the occurrence of tumors;

③ Other factors, such as interleukin-6, can be highly expressed in pituitary tumors and have a growth-promoting effect on maintaining the tumor. These may be the triggering factors of pituitary adenomas. The second is the pituitary cell self-defect theory, which believes that the gene mutation of pituitary adenoma cells is the main initiating factor. Schulte's study found that the vast majority of pituitary adenomas are monoclonal, which means that pituitary adenomas originate from a mutated cell. Under the conditions of external triggering factors or the pituitary's own growth factors and the lack of inhibitory factors, monoclonal expansion or cell replication due to self-mutation occurs.

The above is for reference only. If you are not sure about your physical health, you can go to the hospital for a check-up to clarify your physical condition. If you can find it early, you should receive treatment early to avoid delaying the disease and making it worse.