Mass General Brigham Pituitary Center
What We Do
The MGB Pituitary Center offers a multidisciplinary approach to patients with pituitary and hypothalamic disorders, including Cushing’s disease, acromegaly, prolactinomas, and nonfunctioning pituitary tumors. We provide comprehensive, state-of-the-art diagnostic evaluations and individualized treatment plans formulated by a dedicated, coordinated team of neuroendocrinologists, pituitary neurosurgeons, and specialized radiation oncologists.
What We Treat
For over two decades, the MGB Pituitary Center has provided a multidisciplinary approach to patients with pituitary and hypothalamic disorders. Our specialists diagnose and manage the full range of neuroendocrine conditions.
Our Team
Our neurosurgeons and neuroendocrinologists help patients and referring physicians around the world, working on a case-by-case basis to provide state-of-the-art care. We work in close collaboration with radiation oncologists, neuro-ophthalmologists, psychiatrists, and other specialists as needed.
Get in Touch
Whether you’re a patient looking for a consultation, or a physician interested in hearing more about what we do, please contact us.
Featured Research
Oxytocin Deficiency: A New Syndrome
Drs. Lisa B. Nachtigall (MGH) and Ursula B. Kaiser (BWH), both neuroendocrinologists, contributed to the assessment of international consensus guidelines for the medical management of Cushing’s disease at Pituitary Tumor Centers of Excellence, which includes both MGH and BWH. Despite its rare occurrence, Cushing’s disease can be associated with hypertension, obesity, lipid disorders, atherosclerosis, hypercoagulability, osteoporosis, diabetes mellitus, and immune and growth suppression, making effective medical treatment critical for those not cured surgically. Overall, the median control rate in patients with Cushing’s disease receiving medical treatment was 75%, highlighting the effectiveness of this option. Medications such as metyrapone and ketoconazole, which inhibit adrenal cortisol production, were the most commonly used medications, followed by pasireotide, which can inhibit the secretion of pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) by pituitary tumors.
In this paper published in Endocrine Reviews, Drs. Elizabeth A. Lawson (MGH neuroendocrinologist and principal investigator) and Anna Aulinas (former MGH postdoctoral fellow) summarize the current knowledge of oxytocin deficiency and implications for patients who have hypothalamic or pituitary disease. The MGB Pituitary Center is at the forefront of oxytocin deficiency research. We identified oxytocin deficiency in several conditions, including men with arginine vasopressin deficiency (formerly known as diabetes insipidus), associated with worse mental health. Our current studies focus on characterizing oxytocin deficiency in women with hypopituitarism, developing ways to diagnose oxytocin deficiency, and testing oxytocin replacement strategies.
Elizabeth A. Lawson, MD MMSc
Medical Management of Cushing’s Disease
Lisa B. Nachtigall, MD
Ursula B. Kaiser, MD