Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Sheehan’s syndrome is a health problem that happens in some women after childbirth. It occurs when a woman loses a large amount of blood or has very low blood pressure during or just after delivery. Because of this, the pituitary gland (a small “master gland” at the base of the brain) does not get enough…

Pituitary apoplexy is a sudden problem in the pituitary gland, which is a small hormone-making gland at the base of your brain. In pituitary apoplexy, there is a rapid bleed (hemorrhage) or a sudden loss of blood flow (infarction or stroke-like event) inside the pituitary, most often inside a pituitary tumor that the person may…

Empty sella syndrome (ESS) is a condition where the small bony space in the skull that holds the pituitary gland (the sella turcica) looks “empty” on brain scans. In reality, it is not truly empty. The space is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the clear fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. The fluid…

Central diabetes insipidus (CDI) is a disease where the brain does not make or release enough of a hormone called antidiuretic hormone (ADH), also called vasopressin. ADH is normally made in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus and stored in the back part of the pituitary gland. When your body needs to save…

hCG insensitivity is a rare genetic hormone problem where the body cannot “hear” the message from the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and its twin hormone luteinizing hormone (LH). hCG and LH normally bind to a special “antenna” on cells called the LH/hCG receptor (made by the LHCGR gene). When this receptor does not work,…

LH insensitivity means that the body does not respond properly to luteinizing hormone (LH), even when the blood level of LH is normal or high. LH normally binds to LH receptors on the gonads (testes in males, ovaries in females) and tells them to make sex hormones such as testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone. When the…

FSH insensitivity is a rare hormone disorder in which the body makes normal or even very high levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), but the ovaries in females or the testes in males do not respond properly to it. This happens because the FSH receptor on the gonadal cells does not work normally, so the signal…

GnRH insensitivity is a rare hormone problem where the body’s cells do not respond properly to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). GnRH is made in the brain and tells the pituitary gland to release LH and FSH, which then stimulate the testes or ovaries to make sex hormones. In GnRH insensitivity, the GnRH receptor or its pathway…

Secondary adrenal insufficiency is a condition where your adrenal glands do not make enough of the stress hormone cortisol because the pituitary gland in your brain is not sending enough ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) to tell them to work. The adrenal glands themselves are usually normal, but they are “under-stimulated,” so cortisol levels fall. Aldosterone (the…

ACTH deficiency means the body does not make enough ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), a hormone released by the pituitary gland in the brain. Low ACTH causes the adrenal glands to make too little cortisol, leading to “secondary adrenal insufficiency.” MSD Manuals+1 ACTH deficiency means the pituitary gland does not make enough ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), so the…

Hypoprolactinemia means that the level of the hormone prolactin in the blood is lower than normal. Prolactin is made by the anterior pituitary gland, a small gland at the base of the brain. Prolactin helps with breast development, milk production after childbirth, and normal reproductive function in both women and men. When prolactin is too…

Isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) is a condition where the pituitary gland does not make enough growth hormone, but the other pituitary hormones are normal. Growth hormone is a chemical messenger that helps children grow in height, build muscle, and keep normal body composition. When only growth hormone is low, a child may grow much…