Pituitary headache

Abstract

The ready access to brain imaging has resulted in an increased detection of incidentally discovered pituitary lesions. Radiological and post mortem studies report the prevalence of pituitary incidentalomas to be as high as 10%.1 Exclusion of secondary headache is a frequent clinical indication for brain imaging. It is therefore not uncommon to be faced with a patient with both headache and a pituitary abnormality. The clinician must decide if the pituitary lesion is of any relevance to headache or a purely incidental finding. The aim of this article is to review the association between pituitary tumours and headache, and to suggest a pragmatic approach to investigation and management.