Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Simmonds' disease
Introduction
Simmonds’ disease (also Simmonds’ syndrome) refers to panhypopituitarism caused by the destruction of the pituitary gland due to infiltrative processes (e.g. lymphocytic), tumours (pituitary adenomas or craniopharyngiomas) or trauma (cranial injury or following surgery).
Sheehan’s syndrome is a sub-classification of Simmond’s disease occurring specifically in the peripartum period.
Eponym
Eponym
It was first described by Morris Simmonds when a patient presented with ‘fatal cachexia‘, although his patient went on to live for 11 more years. [1][2]
Symptoms
Symptoms
Although cachexia may be present, the disease is characterised by symptoms due to decreased gonadal, thyroidal and adrenal function. These include:
- amenorrhoea or oligomenorrhoea, impotence, loss of libido
- tiredness, hypotension
- waxy skin, loss of body hair
See Hypopituitarism
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