Pituitary gland size in temporal lobe epilepsy

Abstract

Reproductive functional disorders and endocrine disorders are common in epileptic patients, particularly in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Pituitary size has been measured in patient populations with several diseases, but not in those with TLE so far. We compared the pituitary gland height and the morphology of its superior margin between patients with TLE and age- and sex- matched controls on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We found a smaller pituitary gland in patients with TLE compared to controls without any change of the morphology of its superior margin. The pituitary gland seems to be a site to check on MRI when evaluating a patient with TLE. The implications of this finding related to etiopathogenesis and clinical practice have been discussed.