Simultaneous defect of visual fields and loss of libido--a coincidence?

• Published in: Praxis (Bern. 1994) Vol. 95; no. 49; p. 1925
• Main Authors: Jenni, S, Seiler, R, Christ, E R, Stettler, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: German
• Published: Switzerland 06.12.2006
• Subjects: Diagnosis, Differential; Dopamine Agonists - therapeutic use; Erectile Dysfunction - drug therapy; Erectile Dysfunction - etiology; Ergolines - therapeutic use; Humans; Hyperprolactinemia - drug therapy; Hyperprolactinemia - etiology; Hypogonadism - drug therapy; Hypogonadism - etiology; Libido - drug effects; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Nerve Compression Syndromes - diagnosis; Nerve Compression Syndromes - drug therapy; Optic Nerve Diseases - diagnosis; Optic Nerve Diseases - drug therapy; Pituitary Neoplasms - diagnosis; Pituitary Neoplasms - drug therapy; Prolactinoma - diagnosis; Prolactinoma - drug therapy; Visual Fields - drug effects
• ISSN: 1661-8157
• DOI: 10.1024/1661-8157.95.49.1925

We present the case of a 60 year old male patient with incidentally detected visual abnormalities. Detailed personal history revealed a hypogonadism that had been present for several years. Further investigations established the diagnosis of an infiltrative macroadenoma. Medical treatment with cabergoline led to a rapid regression of ophthalmologic symptoms and, subsequently, of tumor size. In male subjects symptoms of hypogonadism are often reported only late in the course of the disease, thereby leading to a generally larger tumor size at the point of diagnosis. In contrast to other pituitary tumors that are mainly treated by surgery, medical treatment with dopamine agonists is the principal therapeutic option in prolactinomas.