A pituitary mass and hypopituitarism: improvement after corticosteroid therapy.
Lymphocytic hypophysitis of the anterior pituitary is a rare autoimmune disease, invariably diagnosed either by surgical biopsy of the adenohypophysis or at autopsy. The current report describes the rapid development of hypopituitarism in a 42-year-old nulliparous woman with a large sellar mass, who did not undergo pituitary surgery. Transient regression of the sellar mass and partial improvement of the hypopituitarism was induced by treatment with corticoids. We suggest that the diagnosis of lymphocytic hypophysitis can be established clinically and that conservative treatment with corticoids should be considered prior to surgical intervention.
Shimon
I
I
Institute of Endocrinology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel.
Berezin
M
M
Hadani
M
M
Tadmor
R
R
Gross
D
D
Karasik
A
A
D000328:Adult; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007018:Hypopituitarism / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D011241:Prednisone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012658:Sella Turcica
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D011241:Prednisone