Link between PCOS and pituitary?

Mishee · 08-20-2009, 03:56 AM

I wasn't exactly sure where I should post this, but I was wondering if anyone had seen any articles or research that linked the cause of PCOS to a dysfunction of the pituitary gland. The thought occurred to me because I was sitting in my anatomy class and we were talking about the endocrine system. Well, LH and FSH are produced in the pituitary and in many women with PCOS are found in a different ratio than women without PCOS. The more I thought about a link between the pituitary and PCOS, the more it made sense. I mean the pituitary is the so called master gland, it's the gland that produces all the hormones that tell the other glands what to do. So if the pituitary isn't functioning properly then it would make sense that a woman could experience a wide variety of hormonal imbalances, such as those seen in PCOS cases. Basically, if the pituitary has a dysfunction that causes PCOS, then it might explain why women with PCOS experience other endocrine disorders, such as hypothyroidism, diabetes, prolactinomas, Cushings, etc. For example, in the case of hypothyroidism, the pituitary secretes TSH which tells the thyroid to secrete T3 and T4. If the pituitary doesn't secrete enough TSH then the thyroid won't secrete T3 and T4, which could result in hypothyroidism. I could be totally off base here, I'm not a doctor by any means, but I'm curious if anyone has done any research here. Any ideas?