title: Two case reports of pituitary adenoma associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection.
abstract: The involvement of the pituitary in cases of toxoplasmosis has been described in the literature only rarely. This is the first report to describe pituitary adenoma in association with Toxoplasma gondii infection. The two patients were 43 and 19 year old women. Radiological examination revealed tumours in the sellar region. Microscopically, the tumours consisted of small homogeneous polygonal or round cells. Toxoplasma cysts were found among the tumour cells, a finding confirmed by Toxoplasma gondii specific antibody immunohistochemistry. The association between pituitary adenoma and toxoplasma raises the possibility that T gondii might be involved in the development of certain cases of pituitary adenoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'An, Shaanxi Province, P R China, 710032. zhangxh@fmmu.edu.cn
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D016781:Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology