The sellar/parasellar endocrinopathies: a brief clinical overview.

Endocrine disorders of the pituitary and other hypothalamic structures are reviewed. Anterior and posterior pituitary physiology is described as well as hormone-producing tumors that cause Cushing's disease, hyperprolactinemia, acromegaly-gigantism, and precocious and delayed puberty. The diagnosis and management of diabetes insipidus caused by hypothalamic-posterior pituitary disorders complete the overview.

Thyroid disease in the elderly.

Overtreatment of hypothyroidism is particularly hazardous in older patients, who are often maintained on less than half the amount of replacement hormone required by younger patients. With the current sensitive assays for TSH, the goal is to reduce TSH to the normal but not to the suppressed range. For hyperthyroidism, prompt treatment with radioactive iodine is indicated.