Cross-Sectional Analysis of Pituitary Gland Zones Exposed to Thyroid Modulators
Background: The pituitary gland takes part in coordinating the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) network. This study aimed to examine the effects of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism on the structure of the pars distalis, pars intermedia, and pars nervosa regions of the pituitary gland. Metho...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
ziauddin University
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Pakistan Journal of Medicine and Dentistry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ojs.zu.edu.pk/pjmd/article/view/3905 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Background: The pituitary gland takes part in coordinating the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) network. This study aimed to examine the effects of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism on the structure of the pars distalis, pars intermedia, and pars nervosa regions of the pituitary gland.
Methods: In this in-vivo study, 30 male Wistar rats that were in normal health were assigned to the control (untreated), hypothyroid (propylthiouracil-treated), and hyperthyroid (levothyroxine-treated) conditions for 4 weeks using a random sampling technique in an Animal Research Center. The study was conducted for 3 months from February 2024 to May 2024 at LUMHS and the Asian Institute of Medical Sciences. OpenEpi 3.0.0 was used to calculate the sample size. After performing euthanasia, the pituitary glands were taken out, weighed, and sliced for analysis with H&E staining. SPSS version 26.0 was used for statistical analysis.
Results: Rats with hypothyroidism had larger pituitary glands (11.5 ± 1.3 mg, p < 0.01), whereas hyperthyroid rats had shrunken pituitary glands (8.2 ± 0.9 mg, p < 0.05) than the controls. A histological examination revealed there were too many (hyperplasia) somatotrophs and thyrotrophs in the pars distalis of hypothyroid animals.
Conclusion: Changes in thyroid hormone levels caused the pituitary gland to reorganize by changing the number of endocrine cells and the stability of the tissue. These findings pointed out that the structure of the pituitary was easily affected by thyroid hormones and emphasized the need for balance among the endocrine glands.
|
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2313-7371 2308-2593 |