Endocrine practice : official journal of the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
October 9, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Neurocognitive Outcomes in Patients with Pituitary Adenomas.
Singh A, Natesh P.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Surgery for pituitary adenomas appears to improve some cognitive domains, particularly in non-functioning adenomas and Cushing's disease, but less so in acromegaly.
What was studied
Systematic review of six studies of adults with pituitary adenomas who had standardized cognitive testing before and after surgery.
Key findings
- Six eligible studies were included
- Memory improved significantly after surgery in non-functioning adenomas and Cushing's disease
- Acromegaly patients showed limited cognitive improvement
Clinical relevance
Counsel patients that cognitive recovery is possible but may be incomplete, especially in acromegaly.
Who should care
Limitations
Only six studies, heterogeneous tests and populations; descriptive synthesis; abstract conclusion truncated.
Cognitive recovery after pituitary surgery is promising but variable.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Objective
To perform a systematic review to explore the impact of surgical interventions for pituitary adenomas on cognitive function. We assessed diverse cognitive domains, including memory and learning and complex attention and executive function.
Methods
We conducted a systematic literature search across six databases. We identified studies published during a 20-year period (2004-2024) that included adult patients diagnosed with NFPA (Non functioning Pituitary adenoma), acromegaly or Cushing's Disease (CD) who had undergone standardised neurocognitive tests pre- and post-surgical interventions. Data synthesis included descriptive statistics and bias assessments using the 'NHLBI' (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute) and 'GRADE' (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) tools.
Results
We included six eligible studies in our review. Post-operatively, there were significant improvements in memory in patients with diagnosed NFPAs and CD. There was promising recovery of attention, processing speed and working memory following surgical management, particularly for those patients with diagnosed NFPAs. Those patients with diagnosed CD demonstrated post-operative recovery of verbal fluency and general cognition. Conversely, those patients diagnosed with acromegaly had limited improvements in their cognition post-operatively, likely reflecting irreversible neurological changes caused by prolonged exposure to excessive serum levels of growth hormone.
Conclusions
Surgical interventions for pituitary adenomas offer promising cognitive recovery for those patients diagnosed with NFPAs and CD, although cognitive deficits may persist post-operatively, particularly for those diagnosed with acromegaly. The variability in post-operative cognitive outcomes identified in this review highlights a need for standardised cognitive assessments and longitudinal studies to examine cognitive recovery following surgical management of pituitary adenomas. Clinically, routine cognitive assessment and integration of these measures into multidisciplinary management approaches are important to optimise patient outcomes.
DOI
10.1016/j.eprac.2026.08.030
PMID
42855135
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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