Pituitary News, Issue 28 - Summer 2003.

Kallman's is a rare condition affecting the Hypothalamus, which secretes hormones to the Pituitary gland. The hypothalamus is dysfunctional and cannot secret GnRH to the pituitary gland which, as a result, is unable to send either Lutenising Hormone (LH) or Follicle Simulating Hormone, (FSH) to the ovaries, (women) and testes (men).

Symptoms of undiagnosed KS are: no sense of smell (anosmia), failure to enter puberty, lack of sexual drive and infertility (non-ovulation in women and little or no sperm-count in men). Other symptoms may include mood swings, depression, anxiety, fatigue and insomnia. If undiagnosed, the condition can lead to Osteoporosis in later life.

The treatment for diagnosed patients is either estrogen or Testosterone replacement therapy and fertility treatment if a KS patient desires to have a child. Regular bone-density scans, an MRI scan, (magnetic resonance imaging) and blood-tests may be required.