Impulse control disorders in patients with pituitary tumours
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Impulse control disorders in patients with pituitary tumours
IRAS ID
255061
Contact name
Niki Karavitaki
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 29 days
Research summary
Tumours of the pituitary gland account 10-15% of brain tumours. One treatment option for many of them is medications called dopamine agonists (DA). These can be very effective and are usually offered for many years or life-long. However, there are reports showing that DAs can cause changes in behaviour called impulse control disorders (ICD). In ICDs, the patient cannot resist a strong desire or temptation to perform an act that can be harmful to him/her or others. In fact, the patient experiences pleasure and release of tension at the time of committing the act. Some examples include pathological gambling, compulsive eating, compulsive shopping and performance of repetitive mechanical tasks, like assembling and disassembling household objects with no particular reason. If these problems are missed, there may be significant consequences for the patient and his family, social or work environment. This important area has not been studied adequately and there is urgent need to look at this problem more carefully. With this study, we aim to evaluate the frequency of ICDs in patients with pituitary tumour treated with DAs and compare this with the frequency of ICDs in patients with pituitary tumour not treated with DAs. We will also look at factors associated with higher risk for developing ICDs. Presence of ICDs will be assessed by validated questionnaires used in routine clinical practice. Patients will be recruited from the Department of Endocrinology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and will be asked to fill in these questionnaires. Recruitment will last one year. The results will provide guidance to clinicians on the risk and extent of this potentially serious consequence and the need for monitoring and early recognition of relevant symptoms. Further benefits include development of clinical guidelines and screening tools promoting safe care and preventing serious consequences for the patient and his environment.
Results Summary
31 patients with pituitary tumours were recruited to the study and data from 200 participants were finally analysed.
The study showed that patients with a prolactinoma treated with dopamine agonist had more often positive responses to questions relating with impulse control disorders compared with patients with another type of pituitary tumour called non-functioning pituitary adenoma (this group of patients was not treated with dopamine agonist). The dose of the dopamine agonist was not associated with the presence of positive responses to questions relating with impulse control disorders. In another group of patients with a pituitary tumour causing acromegaly, the frequency of positive responses to questions relating with impulse control disorders did not differ between those treated with dopamine agonist and those not treated with these drugs.REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/0478
Date of REC Opinion
15 Apr 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion