title: Autoimmune hypophysitis may eventually become empty sella.
abstract: Autoimmune hypophysitis (AH) is commonly believed to be a rare chronic inflammatory condition of the pituitary gland. In clinical practice, however, the disease is often seen indeed. It typically presents with hypopituitarism and pituitary mass found by MRI. We report here unusual presentations of two females with AH followed by empty sella syndrome. The two females, aged at 64 and 57-years-old, presented with anterior pituitary dysfunction, diplopia and diabetes insipidus. By MRI the two patients shared the common characteristics with diffuse homogenous contrast enhancement of the gland and increased stalk thickness. After a long period treatment with glucocorticoids, empty sella was eventually detected by MRI.
authors: Department of Endocrinology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, China. huagao0706@126.com
authors: Hua
authors: H
authors: Gao
authors: You-You
authors: YY
authors: Gu
authors: Ming-cai
authors: MC
authors: Qiu
mesh_terms: D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D004652:Empty Sella Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007018:Hypopituitarism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids