[Physiology of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis].

The hypothalamus is part of the diencephalon and regulates not only endocrine functions but also various physiological functions, including controlling sleep and wakefulness, eating and drinking, and regulating body temperature. The pituitary gland can be divided into the adenohypophysis and neurohypophysis based on its developmental origin. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland play important roles in maintaining homeostasis by closely coordinating hormones. In the treatment of hypothalamic and pituitary diseases, it is important to understand the functions of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, preserve hypothalamic function, evaluate the endocrine function, and follow up appropriately throughout life, including hormone replacement without excess or deficiency. Additionally, when interpreting hormone data, it is necessary to understand the factors that influence test values.

A procedure in mice to obtain intact pituitary-infundibulum-hypothalamus preparations: a method to evaluate the reconstruction of hypothalamohypophyseal system.

PURPOSE: The histopathological study of brain tissue is a common method in neuroscience. However, efficient procedures to preserve the intact hypothalamic-pituitary brain specimens are not available in mice for histopathological study. METHOD: We describe a detailed procedure for obtaining mouse brain with pituitary-hypothalamus continuity. Unlike the traditional methods, we collect the brain via a ventral approach. We cut the intraoccipital synchondrosis, transection the endocranium of pituitary, broke the spheno-occipital synchondrosis, expose the posterior edge of pituitary, separate the trigeminal nerve, then the intact pituitary gland was preserved. RESULT: We report an more effective and practical method to obtain continuous hypothalamus -pituitary preparations based on the preserve of leptomeninges. COMPARED WITH THE EXISTING METHODS: Our procedure effectively protects the integrity of the fragile infundibulum preventing the pituitary from separating from the hypothalamus. This procedure is more convenient and efficient. CONCLUSION: We present a convenient and practical procedure to obtain intact hypothalamic-pituitary brain specimens for subsequent histopathological evaluation in mice.

Pituitary stalk Langerhans cell histiocytosis treated with CyberKnife radiosurgery.

OBJECTIVE: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare idiopathic disease that is characterized by clonal proliferation of Langerhans histiocytes in various parts of the body. These atypical cells have been found to infiltrate single or multiple organs, including bone, lungs, liver, spleen, lymph nodes, and skin. Central nervous system invasion in LCH patients has rarely been reported, especially in the adult population. METHODS AND RESULTS: We describe three histopathologically confirmed cases of adult LCH that involves both the pituitary stalk and hypothalamus, and report our limited experience of such cases in this location that has been treated with CyberKnife radio surgery. CONCLUSION: The treatment goal of controlling lesion growth is achieved by CyberKnife radiosurgery in this case series. All patients tolerated the treatment well without obvious complications.