Sleep Disorders in Hypothalamic and Pituitary Damage
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: This is an observational study. No drugs will be administered.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Hypopituitarism, Sleep Wake Disorders, Hypothalamic Diseases, Oxytocin Deficiency. Basic parameters: 18 years — 70 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Spain
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Multidisciplinary Approach to Elucidate the Pathophysiology of Sleep Disorders in Patients With Hypothalamic and Pituitary Damage
Overview
Hypothalamus has a key role in multiple vital functions, including regulation of sleep-wake cycles. Oxytocin (OT), a neurohormone synthetized in the hypothalamus, has a wide range of physiological functions, including a putative role in improving sleep quality. Hypothalamic and pituitary damage (HPD) is associated with a clinically relevant OT deficient state and multiple and severe comorbidities including poor sleep quality, that have a well-known negative impact on general health and quality of life (QoL). Several factors may coexist in the pathophysiology of sleep disorders (SD) in HPD and SD might be a keystone in the persistence of some of the comorbidities observed in HPD. Therefore, appropriate identification and understanding of the mechanisms contributing to SD in HPD is mandatory to choose adequate preventive strategies and treatment. This project is aimed to (1) identify the prevalence of SD in HPD, (2) to determine OT role in sleep quality and (3) to identify potential mechanisms and mediators of sleep quality and their associations with clinical outcomes in patients with HPD with the ultimate goal of identifying preventive and therapeutic targets. We will use a controlled cross-sectional design of patients with HPD and sex-, BMI-, age- matched controls and an innovative cross-disciplinary approach bridging neuroendocrinology, psychology, neurophysiology, neuroimaging, nuclear medicine and neuroophthalmology disciplines to learn about the prevalence of SD in HPD and to disentangle the underpinning mechanisms behind SDs in HPD. The results of this project will be an extremely important step towards optimizing therapy for patients with HPD who have higher mortality and poor QoL despite appropriate hormone replacement therapy.
Interventions
- Other This is an observational study. No drugs will be administered
Data from objective sleep evaluation (actigraphy, polisomnography and MLST), subjective sleep evaluation (questionnaires), neuroimaging (MRI and PET-CT), ophthalmological evaluation and hormone evaluation (urine and blood) will be collected in a cross-sectional manner, without performing any additional intervention.
Primary outcome measures
- Prevalence of sleep disorders in patients with hypothalamic and pituitary damage compared to healthy controls [Time frame: From enrollment to completion of the assessments at 3 months]
Secondary outcome measures (5)
- Saliva oxytocin concentrations in patients compared to controls [Time frame: From day 1 and day 2 of the objective sleep assessments (polisomnography and MSLT)]
- Urine 6-sulfametoxymelatonin concentrations in patients compared to controls [Time frame: From day 1 and day 2 of the objective sleep assessments (polisomnography and MSLT)]
- Prevalence of Brain structural and perfusion abnormalities using Magnetic Resonance Imaging in patients compared to controls [Time frame: From enrollment to completion of the assessment at 3 months]
- Prevalence of glucose brain metabolism abnormalities using Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography in patients and controls [Time frame: From enrollment to completion of the assessment at 3 months]
- Prevalence of patients with neuroophthalmological damage (in patients with HPD only) assessed by an expert neuro-ophthalmologist [Time frame: Baseline]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Patients with hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction (HPD) with at least one pituitary hormone deficiency and at least one clinical sign of hypothalamic damage (e.g., arginine-vasopressin deficiency (AVP-D) and/or severe obesity and/or hyperphagia; MRI suggestive of hypothalamic damage; traumatic brain injury; radiotherapy in the sellar region and/or brain tumors affecting the hypothalamus).
- Healthy controls matched for BMI, age, and sex.
Exclusion criteria
- Poor control of hormonal deficiencies in the previous 6 months.
- Use of new psychoactive drugs in the last 3 months or occasional use.
- Clinically significant liver, lung, kidney, and cardiovascular disease.
- Any neurological condition affecting brain function (stroke, dementia, uncontrolled epilepsy with recent seizures).
- Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus.
- Active psychosis.
- Ophthalmology: total blindness, Glaucoma, uveitis, visual acuity <0.6, or eye surgery in the previous 6 months.
- Any acute illness that the investigator determines may interfere with study participation or safety.
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
- Patients who refuse or are unable to provide written informed consent.
- In controls: presence of brain or pituitary tumor, radiation involving the hypothalamus or pituitary, and history of hypopituitarism.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Observational model
- Case-control
Study locations
Spain · 1 center
- Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau — Barcelona
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07143266 · IIBSP-SUE-2024-36