Nationary Pituitary Awareness Month Pituitary Awareness Quiz

Even the most ardent readers of my blog will probably have forgotten that October is National Pituitary Awareness Month. Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen - that happy time is here again! Try to contain your excitement, please.

Last year, I looked at some of the other National Months that are held in October; this year, I felt like doing something different. But pituitary glands are tricky things to raise awareness for, especially considering that approximately eighty percent of Britons can't even spell the word "pituitary", let alone point to its location in the body.*

And then it hit me.

Fortunately, I wasn't seriously injured.

Dear readers, it's been over a year since I started this blog. Some of you have been here from the start, some of you have joined me along the way, and some of you typed "piglets in a teacup" into Google and arewondering how the hell you ended up here.** Believe me, I'm wondering too. But I feel quite strongly that all of you should have increased, improved and frankly incredible knowledge of the pituitary gland as a result of reading this blog, and now you will finally have the chance to prove it. And so, I present: The National Pituitary Awareness Month Pituitary Awareness Quiz! It's not sanctioned by any healthcare professionals, and it's not recognised as a professional medical qualification anywhere, ever - but the winner will gain both bragging points, a delightful poem about how wise they are, and my eternal respect.

Here's how it's going to work: For the remainder of the month, I will post one (probably multiple-choice) question about the pituitary gland every day.*** To be in with a chance of winning, simply post your answer in the comments section. Correct answers gain you one point. At the end of the month, I will leave a day or so for anyone who wants to join in to answer all the questions, then I'll tot up the points and announce the winner and write a short praise poem about how awesome they are.

Here's the twist: correct answers gain one point. Answers (however wildly incorrect) which include something that amuses me - a pun, rhyming couplet, accompanying picture or just shameless flattery - will get two points. Because life's not fair, and neither is my pituitary gland.

If I get more than five comments before the end of the month, I will count this quiz as a wild success, so please join in!

National Pituitary Awareness Month Pituitary Awareness Quiz

Day 1 - Question 1

Q.1:  Acromegaly is a rare disease caused by a growth-hormone-secreting pituitary tumour, which can lead to gigantism and excessive growth of the body's tissues. But what language is the word "acromegaly" derived from, and what does it literally mean?

Is it:

a) from the Latin acro "extremity; member of the body" and magnus "large"

b) from the Greek arka "repository; hidden place" and megaras "growth".

c) from the Greek akros "highest; extremity" and megalos "large".

It's an easy-to-Google one to start you off. Fly, my pretties, fly!


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* Warning: spurious fact alert.

** This is actually a genuine search that somehow resulted in my blog
coming up. I have no idea why

***In theory.

Hyperthyroid Patients, Unite!

Subtitle: You have nothing to lose but your goitres!

So here's the strange thing: I have a TSHoma - a pituitary tumour which secretes TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). It's super rare. According to my endocrinologist there are maybe thirteen or so other people in the UK with this condition which, in a population of 63 million, is Not Very Many, although it probably does go largely underdiagnosed; I had my first symptoms when I was around 16 or 17 and didn't get a diagnosis until I was 22.

But anyway, the point is that it can sometimes almost feel like two separate conditions; I have the pituitary adenoma, and the hyperthyroidism it causes. My symptoms, apart from the odd nasty headache, are pretty much exclusively those of hyperthyroidism; my treatment is for the adenoma. Consequently, although I am in all seriousness a paid-up member of the Pituitary Foundation and can chat about transsphenoidal surgery and lanreotide injections with the best of them, I'm missing out on the chance to bitch and moan about sinus tachycardia and getting the shakes with other people whose blood has turned to delicious thyroid hormone stew. More fool me!

People with excess thyroid hormone usually get that way from either a) taking too high a dose of thyroxine medication (exogenous thyrotoxicosis), or b) something else. The former can be dealt with simply by reducing the dose. The latter is more complicated. Possible causes include:

Graves Disease - the most common cause of hyperthyroidism, Graves is an autoimmune disease which can be treated with anithyroid drugs, surgery to remove part or all of the thyroid, or a dose of radiactive iodine. After such treatment there's a substantial and ironic risk of hypothyroidism - i.e. not having enough thyroid hormone.

Tumours of the thyroid gland - thyroid adenoma is a benign tumour of the thyroid gland which may secrete large amounts of thyroid hormone, while thyroid nodules may be benign or malignant and again may or may not release thyroid hormone - in some cases they may actually inhibit its production, causing hypothyroidism.

Thyroiditis - inflammation of the thyroid gland. Although this often initially leads to high levels of thyroid hormone being released, it usually progresses to thyroid disfunction with the gland unable to produce sufficient hormones, and ultimately causes hypothyroidism. Around 7% of women experience temporary thyroiditis after giving birth (postpartum thyroiditis) which may lead to hyper- or hypothyroidism, or both; this usually resolves itself.

TSH hypersecretion - super rare, but usually caused by a pituitary adenoma (hurrah!). However, I believe there is also the possibility of a tumour in the hypothalamus causing excess Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone and hyperstimulating the pituitary gland to overproduce TSH, which in turn would hyperstimulate the thyroid gland to overproduce thyroid hormone. Again, it's very rare.

I guess really I should be grateful for this, as effectively I have two health conditions for the price of one. This blog is usually focussed mainly around the dramatic "there's a tumour in my head!" aspects of my pituitary adenoma, and poor little hyperthyroidism barely gets a look in, except for when I complain about my tachycardia/hair falling out/absurd appetite issues. But no longer! From now on I vow to go on about hyperthyroidism more. So you guys will get two lots of whingeing for the price of one!

HOLY SHIT: it's NATIONAL PITUITARY AWARENESS MONTH!

As you ALMOST CERTAINLY already know, October is National Pituitary Awareness Month, that special time of year when pituitary tumourheads (and all our brethren in glandular ineptitude) come together to make sure that the rest of the world is giving us enough sympathy.

If I were a teenager and this was Facebook, I'd probably put at least six exclamation marks after that sentence. But I'm not and it's not, so you'll just have to imagine how excited I am. When I saw the announcement on the Pituitary Foundation's website, I pretty much looked like this cat.*

However, I quickly realised there was a problem.

You see, October isn't just National Pituitary Awareness month.

According to The Internet, it's also Lupus Awareness Month, National Cyber Security Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, LGBT History Month, National Dental Hygiene Month, Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Awareness Month, Fire Prevention Month, Black History Month and National Masturbation Month.** I mean, damn. How can the cruel and unusual defects of a little gland in your head compete?

So I decided that, in honour of National Pituitary Awareness Month, I would stand up and Do My Bit. And my bit consists of explaining exactly why you should ignore all the other months clamouring for your awareness.

Lupus Awareness Month.
Anyone who's ever watched House knows the answer to this one. It's never lupus.

National Cyber Security Month.
Frankly, I'm not sure it takes a whole month to work out that the Nigerian prince doesn't actually want to give you a million dollars. Next.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Now, I'm not one to downplay the seriousness of breast cancer. But while there are bundles of breast cancer and general cancer charities in the UK, and they fundraise all year round, there's only one UK charity which covers the entire range of exciting things that can go wrong with your pituitary.

Nevertheless, while you're reading this, I guess you could give your boobs a quick jiggle.
Just to check they're ok.***

National Dental Hygiene Month.
Dental hygiene is normally a cause I can really get behind. But National Dental Hygiene month is sponsored by Wrigleys, and the website seems to put a lot more effort into persuading you to chew gum than to, you know, brush your teeth and not drink Ribena all the live-long day. Cynical marketing gimmicks do not a national month make.

Unless anyone wants to sponsor Pituitary Awareness Month, of course.
That would be different.

Fire Prevention Month.
Because the rest of the year, that smoking chip pan can take care of itself.

LGBT and Black History Months.
I am too big a fan of history to support restricting LGBT and black history to one month in a year. Straight white guys get 11 months a year (white girls get a look-in in March, for some reason) virtually to themselves? No, thank you.

Now, go and read about Bayard Rustin, Alice Dunbar-Nelson and Josephine Baker. But please make sure you look them up again in November.

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Awareness Month.
Aw, shucks. I knew there was going to be something to weaken my resolve. I'd never heard of tuberous sclerosis complex. I was all geared up and prepared to laugh at the fact that no sane person who'd come into contact with Transport for London recently would touch anything tuberous with a bargepole.

But no. I have crumbled, like a poorly made biscuit wrenched prematurely from baking paper. Tuberous sclerosis complex sufferers have a crappy and obscure disease, and they probably do need a month and a bit of sympathy.

I guess maybe we could share October, after all.


So now, go forth and multiply, in full awareness of pituitary adenomas and tuberous sclerosis complex!  Awareness: Because some day it might come up in a pub quiz.
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*Ok, no more cat pictures today. I promise.

** Just kidding. That's in May.

*** If you are a man, I suggest you find a volunteer. Or grow a nice pair of moobs. HINT: a pituitary adenoma producing prolactin will help.