SIMMONDS' DISEASE

pituitary disorder characterized by panhypopituitarism, a form of hypopituitarism in which all pituitary secretions are deficient. Effects include dwarfism, atrophy of the sex glands, shrinkage of the breasts and suppression of milk secretion, atrophy of the thyroid and the adrenal cortex, lowering of the metabolic rate, tendency toward lowered blood sugar, and lessened resistance to infection and shock. Some effects of panhypopituitarism have been simulated among emotionally deprived young children. Such children have shown remarkable recovery when removed from the injurious environment. The German doctor Morris Simmonds (18551925) first described this disease in 1914.