title: Candidal pituitary abscess: case report.
abstract: We report a case of a culture-proven intrasellar Candida albicans abscess. A 36-year-old woman presented with a history of headaches, menstrual irregularities, and mild symptoms of diabetes insipidus. She was neurologically intact at the time of a transsphenoidal surgery for a presumed pituitary adenoma. An extensive work-up revealed that although the patient was seronegative for human immunodeficiency virus, she was immunocompromised with a T-cell dysfunction. Fungal abscesses of the pituitary gland have rarely been reported. This is the first documented case of a patient who is seronegative for human immunodeficiency virus who becomes infected by an ordinarily innocuous fungus, Candida albicans.
authors.affiliation: Section of Neurological Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, USA.
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Heary
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Maniker
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Wolansky
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010900:Pituitary Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D011184:Postoperative Period