title: In vivo assessment of pituitary gland volume with magnetic resonance imaging: the effect of age.
abstract: We used sagittal and coronal T1 weighted magnetic resonance images, at 1.5 Tesla, to measure the height, width, length, and cross-sectional area and to generate two estimates of pituitary gland volume in 35 normal volunteers aged 26-79 yr (19 females and 16 males). Subjects over 50 yr of age had significantly smaller pituitary gland height (P = 0.03), area (P = 0.04), and volume (P = 0.04) than those under 50 yr (by two-tailed t test). Overall, age was negatively correlated with pituitary volume (V1: r = -0.51; P = 0.003; V2: r = -0.47; P = 0.008), area (r = -0.43; P = 0.009), and height (r = -0.46; P = 0.005), but not with pituitary length or width. There were no statistically significant differences in pituitary size between men and women (by two-tailed t test). These findings suggest that pituitary gland height provides a good single measure for the assessment of pituitary gland size and that age must be controlled for in studies of pituitary gland size.
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710.
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Lurie
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Doraiswamy
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Husain
authors.forename: O B
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Boyko
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Ellinwood
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Figiel
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Krishnan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D012016:Reference Values; D012737:Sex Factors