Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 105, Issue 2 , Pages 172-176, 2006

Neuropsychiatric Disturbances and Hypopituitarism After Traumatic Brain Injury in an Elderly Man

  • Yi-Cheng Chang
    • ,
  • Fen-Yu Tseng

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Dr. Fen-Yu Tseng, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, 7, Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan, R.O.C.
  • Jui-Chang Tsai

      Affiliations

    • Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • Center for Optoelectronic Biomedicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Received 25 January 2005; received in revised form 9 March 2005; accepted 12 April 2005.

Article Outline

Neuropsychiatric or cognitive disturbances are common complications after traumatic brain injury. They are commonly regarded as irreversible sequelae of organic brain injuries. We report a case of hypopituitarism in a 77-year-old man who presented with long-term neuropsychiatric disturbances, including cognitive impairment, disturbed sleep patterns, personality change, loss of affect, and visual and auditory hallucinations after a traumatic subdural hemorrhage. The treatment response to hormone replacement therapy was nearly complete. Hypopituitarism is rarely considered in patients who sustain traumatic brain injury and the neuropsychiatric manifestations of posttraumatic hypopituitarism have rarely been reported. This case highlights the importance of hypopituitarism as a potential reversible cause of neuropsychiatric disturbances after traumatic brain injury.

Key Words:  hypopituitarism , neuropsychiatric symptoms , traumatic brain injury

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PII: S0929-6646(09)60341-7

doi:10.1016/S0929-6646(09)60341-7

Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 105, Issue 2 , Pages 172-176, 2006

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