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Kenneth Cohen, MD; Philip Felig, MD

Arch Intern Med. 1979;139(8):855-856.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

The availability of radioimmunoassay procedures for the measurement of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) has simplified the differential diagnosis of primary vs secondary hypothyroidism. An elevation of the serum TSH level points to primary failure of the thyroid gland as the basis of the hypothyroidism. However, primary hypothyroidism may secondarily affect a variety of aspects of pituitary function, so that clinical tests evaluating pituitary hormone secretion may lose their diagnostic value.¹ Impaired secretion of growth hormone, delayed gonadotropin responses to luteinizing hormone-releasing factor, decreased adrenocorticotropic hormone release, and increased basal and stimulated prolactin levels have been reported in primary hypothyroidism.¹ Two additional findings that may be of particular clinical importance are the occurrence of amenorrhea-galactorrhea² and sellar enlargement, suggesting the presence of a pituitary tumor.³

The term "amenorrhea-galactorrhea syndrome" has taken on a new meaning in recent years. Increasingly sophisticated endocrine, radiological, and neurosurgical skills have decreased the . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
333 Cedar St Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, CT 06510

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