[Functional and ultrastructural changes in the adenohypophysis in obesity]

The indices of some tropic adenohypophyseal functions of obese patients were compared with ultrastructural reaction of the adequate adenocytes of rats with experimental hypothalamic obesity. It was shown that in obesity significant functional and structural changes occur in adenohypophyseal cells, their extent being considerably associated with the excessive body mass. In pronounced obesity, a decrease in somato- and thyrotropic- and an increase in gonado- and corticotropic adenohypophyseal functions are seen, manifesting in ultrastructural changes of appropriate adenocytes. The results obtained allow a conclusion, that one of the mechanisms of obesity development is the changed secretory potency of adenohypophyseal cells, producing hormones, which exert a substantial influence upon lipogenesis and lipolysis processes.