Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026
Investigations on Alterations of Hippocampal Circuit Function Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: November 19, 2012
PITUITARY DEFICIENCY FOLLOWING TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
A T Soliman1, A Adel1, N A Soliman1
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology, Alexandria University Children's Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt; Weill Cornell Medical College, Qatar and General Pediatrics, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar; Ministry of Health, Alexandria, Egypt; Department of Primary Health Care (PHC), Doha, Qatar; Pediatric and Adolescent Outpatient Clinic, Quisisana Hospital, Ferrara, Italy.
Insights
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause pituitary gland dysfunction in children, leading to growth and puberty issues. Early screening and long-term monitoring are crucial for managing these endocrine disorders and improving recovery.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead to pituitary gland dysfunction, affecting children and adults differently.
- Endocrine disorders post-TBI can manifest transiently or permanently, impacting recovery and development.
Purpose of the Study:
- Critically review studies on pituitary dysfunction in children after TBI compared to adults.
- Highlight the importance of monitoring and screening for endocrine abnormalities post-TBI in pediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Literature search of the MEDLINE database via PubMed (April 2015).
- Focused on English language articles from the past 15 years.
- Included studies comparing pituitary dysfunction in children and adults post-TBI.
Main Results:
- Growth hormone deficiency and pubertal alterations are common early TBI-related pituitary dysfunctions.
- Permanent pituitary lesions like GH deficiency, hypogonadism, and thyroid dysfunction can occur long-term.
- Pituitary dysfunction negatively impacts psycho-neuro-motor recovery, growth, and pubertal development in children.
Conclusions:
- Children and adolescents face a significant risk of pituitary dysfunction after TBI.
- Clinical follow-up and standardized screening protocols are essential for pediatric TBI patients.
- Further multicenter, multidisciplinary studies are needed to understand permanent pituitary dysfunction in children post-TBI.
Unlabelled:
AIMS OF REVIEW: the intent of the current manuscript is to critically review the studies on pituitary gland dysfunction in early childhood following traumatic brain injury (TBI), in comparison with those in adults. Search of the literature: The MEDLINE database was accessed through PubMed in April 2015. Results were restricted to the past 15 years and English language of articles. Both transient and permanent hypopituitarisms are not uncommon after TBI. Early after the TBI, pituitary dysfunction/s differ than those occurring after few weeks and months. Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and alterations in puberty are the most common. After the one to more years of TBI, pituitary dysfunction tends to improve in some patients but may deteriorate in others. GH deficiency as well as Hypogonadism and thyroid dysfunction are the most common permanent lesions. Many of the symptoms of these endocrine defects can pass unnoticed because of the psychomotor defects associated with the TBI like depression and apathy. Unfortunately pituitary dysfunction appear to negatively affect psycho-neuro-motor recovery as well as growth and pubertal development of children and adolescents after TBI. Therefore, the current review highlights the importance of closely following patients, especially children and adolescents for growth and other symptoms and signs suggestive of endocrine dysfunction. In addition, all should be screened serially for possible endocrine disturbances early after the TBI as well as few months to a year after the injury. Risk factors for pituitary dysfunction after TBI include relatively serious TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale score < 10 and MRI showing damage to the hypothalamic pituitary area), diffuse brain swelling and the occurrence of hypotensive and/or hypoxic episodes.
In Conclusion:
There is a considerable risk of developing pituitary dysfunction after TBI in children and adolescents. These patients should be clinically followed and screened for these abnormalities according to an agreed protocol of investigations. Further multicenter and multidisciplinary prospective studies are required to explore in details the occurrence of permanent pituitary dysfunction after TBI in larger numbers of children with TBI. This requires considerable organisation and communication between many disciplines such as neurosurgery, neurology, endocrinology, rehabilitation and developmental paediatrics.
