Journal
LIFE SCIENCES
Volume 80, Issue 10, Pages 940-944Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2006.11.040
Keywords
child; magnetic resonance imaging; neurodevelopment; pituitary
Funding
- NCATS NIH HHS [UL1 TR000005] Funding Source: Medline
- NIMH NIH HHS [K24 MH02037, R01 MH059299, R01 MH59299, K24 MH002037, R01 MH065122, R01 MH65122] Funding Source: Medline
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The pituitary gland plays a central role in sexual development and brain function. Therefore, we examined the effect of age and gender on pituitary volume in a large sample of healthy children and adults. Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was conducted in one hundred and fifty four (77 males and 77 females) healthy participants. Males were between the ages of 7 to 35 years (16.91 +/- 5.89 years) and females were 7 to 35 years of age (16.75 +/- 5.75 years). Subjects were divided into subgroups of age (7 to 9, 10 to 13, 14 to 17, 18 to 21, 22 and older) and sex (male/female). Pituitary gland volume differed between sexes when comparing the age groups (F=3.55, df=2, 143, p=0.03). Females demonstrated larger pituitary glands than males in the age 14 to 17 year old groups (p=0.04). Young (19 years and under) and old (20 years and older) females demonstrated a correlation between pituitary volume and age. Males did not show this relationship. These findings provide additional evidence for gender differences in the normative anatomy of the pituitary and may have relevance for the study of various childhood onset neuropsychiatric disorders in which pituitary dysfunction has been implicated. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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