OBJECTIVE: To analyse clinical and/or laboratorial preoperative hormonal dysfunction , of the nonpituitary intracranial lesions from midline and parasellar area. METHOD: Forty-four patients were evaluated with nonpituitary intracranial lesions, who had images studies (computed tomography or magnetic resonance) and preoperative basal hormonal level; 16 had preoperative hypothalamus-hypophysial function tests (megatests). These patients were divided in two groups. Group I - 34 lesions from midline: 11 craniopharyngiomas, 8 meningiomas, 3 germinomas, 3 tumors of sphenoid sinus, 2 empty sella syndrome, 2 pylocitic astrocytomas, 1 giant aneurysm, 2 mucoceles, 1 III ventricle diverticulum and 1 Rathke's cleft cyst; Group II - 10 lesions from parasellar area: 9 meningiomas and 1 giant aneurysm. RESULTS: In group I, 25/34 (73.5%) patients showed laboratorial hormonal deficit (14 without clinical manifestations) 18/34 (52.9%) hyperprolactinemia (5 with galactorreia) and 8 (53.3%) showed growth hormone deficiency in 15 megatests avaliable in this group; 3 (8.8 %) patients presented central diabetes insipidus (CDI). In group II, 6/10 (60%) patients showed laboratorial hormonal deficit (5 without clinical manifestations), 1 (10%) hyperprolactinemia and 1 growth hormone deficiency (single megatest realized in this group); no patient had preoperative CID. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of nonspecific or poorly valorized clinical manifestations, does not indicate absence of hormonal dysfunction; in this present serie, 19/38 (50%) patients with laboratorial abnormalities, didn't show clinical manifestations. Hormonal dysfunction is frequent in sellar and perisellar nonpituitary lesions, specially involving midline.
intracranial tumor; sellar and juxtasellar lesions; hormonal dysfunction
