
A rare case of a functioning gonadotroph tumor accompanied by erythrocytosis in an elderly man
Author(s) -
Elizaveta Mamedova,
Л С Селиванова,
К. А. Потапова,
Svetlana Buryakina,
Vilen Azizyan,
Andrey Grigoriev,
Zhanna Belaya
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
problemy èndokrinologii
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2308-1430
pISSN - 0375-9660
DOI - 10.14341/probl12758
Subject(s) - medicine , luteinizing hormone , follicle stimulating hormone , hormone , pituitary tumors , hematocrit , endocrinology
Functioning gonadotroph adenomas are rare pituitary tumors secreting one or two gonadotropins (follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and/or luteinizing hormone (LH)), which are hormonally active. In the majority of cases, gonadotroph tumors are endocrinologically “silent” and make up more than a half of non-functioning pituitary adenomas. In this article we describe a rare clinical case of LH/FSH-secreting pituitary macroadenoma with bitemporal hemianopsia in a 62-year-old man. The patient underwent transnasal transsphenoidal adenomectomy, leading to remission. The distinctive feature of this case is the presence of secondary erythrocytosis due to endogenous hyperandrogenism, which required several blood exfusions to normaliza the level of hematocrit before surgery. It is noteworthy that clinical signs of erythrocytosis were present long before visual impairment. This clinical case demonstrates difficulties in the early diagnosis of functioning gonadotroph adenomas.