Eyes in pituitary disorders

Abstract

The eye is a vital sense organ related to vision, conveying the underlying physical and mental state of well-being of an individual. Eye signs are often associated with endocrinal disorders such as exophthalmos in thyro-toxicosis. However, a thorough eye evaluation may lead to the identification of the early features that help in the diagnosis of various endocrine disorders. This is of vital importance especially in the central nervous system lesions. This is observed more in cases of pituitary mass lesions, which often present with functional hormonal alterations rather than visual symptoms. The definitive therapy has to be provided before it reaches the late stage of the disease which might lead to permanent visual disabilities. Hence, ophthalmologists, endocrinologists, neuro-radiologists and neurosurgeons need to intervene with combined efforts. In this review, we highlight the eye signs in pituitary disorders, along with a brief description of uncommon ocular-pituitary syndromes