Sequential MR enhancement pattern in normal pituitary gland and in pituitary adenoma.
OBJECTIVE
To measure and evaluate the temporal enhancement characteristics of the normal pituitary gland and pituitary adenoma.


METHODS
Thirty healthy subjects and 10 patients with sellar pituitary adenomas were studied prospectively using dynamic MR imaging with a 5- or 10-sec temporal resolution during a bolus injection of gadolinium.


RESULTS
Qualitative visual analysis demonstrated a consistent sequential pattern of pituitary enhancement in which the posterior lobe enhanced earlier than the anterior lobe by approximately 35 sec. Quantitative analysis revealed that posterior lobe enhancement occurred 9.8 +/- 1.5 sec (mean +/- SEM) before the anterior lobe in healthy subjects, whereas tumor enhancement occurred significantly before the anterior lobe but only slightly before the posterior lobe in patients with adenomas.


CONCLUSIONS
The sequential enhancement pattern of the normal pituitary gland was found to be consistent with its vascular anatomy. In contrast to previous reports, pituitary adenomas were found to enhance earlier than the anterior lobe. These results suggest that pituitary adenomas have a direct arterial blood supply, similar to that of the posterior pituitary lobe.
Yuh
W T
WT
Department of Radiology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City 52242.
Fisher
D J
DJ
Nguyen
H D
HD
Tali
E T
ET
Gao
F
F
Simonson
T M
TM
Schlechte
J A
JA
D000236:Adenoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003287:Contrast Media; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D004369:Pentetic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011446:Prospective Studies
D003287:Contrast Media; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D004369:Pentetic Acid; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA