Thus, the common denominator in these emotional and behavioral problems seen in people with pituitary disease appears to be the disturbance of neurotransmission or neuromodulation at the level of the hypothalamic microenvironment. It is the center of neuroendocrine, autonomic, and homeostatic regulation and has a major role in the expression of emotional behavior. It also has a connection to the limbic lobes. Finally, many hypothalamic peptides are thought to serve as neuromodulators as well as having a role in anterior pituitary function. Treatment for these emotional and behavioral problems is available but is rather intricate, oftentimes involving the use of different medications which affect different neuro transmitters.
Medications are also only part of the treatment.
Individual and family counseling is often necessary to help the person and the family system adapt to this major disruption. Families are often emotionally exhausted by the emotional roller-coaster rides the person with pituitary disease experiences. Without professional help, previously well-adapted and functioning families are destroyed not by the tumor itself, but the emotional havoc wrought in its wake.