Etiology
- Childhood:
- Genetic disorders
- Perinatal asphyxia
- Developmental disorders/pituitary hypoplasia, aplasia
- Craniopharyngioma, other tumors
- Cranial irradiation
- Head trauma
- Adult:
- Pituitary tumors: Most common etiology; other intrasellar or parasellar tumors: meningiomas, gliomas, metastases, craniopharyngiomas, chordomas, ependymomas, suprasellar dysgerminomas, infundibulomas, astrocytomas, hamartomas
- Surgery on pituitary or adjacent structures; cranial irradiation
- Vascular: Internal carotid artery aneurysm, subarachnoid hemorrhage, pituitary infarction, apoplexy, postpartum hemorrhage with hypotension (Sheehan syndrome)
- Head trauma
- Infection: Abscess, hypophysitis, meningitis, encephalitis, tuberculosis, pneumocystis, histoplasmosis, toxoplasmosis, aspergillosis, cytomegalovirus
- Infiltrative conditions: Hemochromatosis, granulomatous disease, histiocytosis X, sarcoidosis
- Hypothalamic disease (secondary hypopituitarism)
- Autoimmune disease: Lymphocytic hypophysitis
- Pituitary hemorrhage (apoplexy)
- Empty sella
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