Lymphoid Hypophysitis
An Unusual Cause of Hyperprolactinemia and Enlarged Sella Turcica
- Carlos J. Portocarrero, MD;
- Alan G. Robinson, MD;
- Andrew L. Taylor, MD;
- Irwin Klein, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
LYMPHOID hypophysitis is an inflammatory process characterized by the presence of isolated lymphoid follicles and diffuse lymphocytic infiltrate of the anterior pituitary. The entity has been reported as an autopsy finding in six cases1-6 and as an antemortem diagnosis in one previous patient.7 The following article describes a woman who underwent transsphenoidal pituitary exploration for a suspected prolactin-producing pituitary tumor. On routine histological examination of the surgical specimen, there were the characteristic inflammatory changes of lymphoid hypophysitis1-7 without evidence of a tumor. This article documents the occurrence of elevated prolactin and enlargement of the sella turcica owing to lymphocytic infiltration of the adenohypophysis.
Report of a Case A 25-year-old woman was admitted for evaluation of persistent throbbing headaches that had persisted for six months. Five months before, she had a normal vaginal delivery of her fifth child and since that time had persistent galactorrhea and amenorrhea, despite
Footnotes
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Reprint requests to 961 Scaife Hall, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (Dr Klein).
