Korean J Intern Med.  2012 Sep;27(3):346-349. 10.3904/kjim.2012.27.3.346.

A Case of Idiopathic Granulomatous Hypophysitis

• Chung CH
• Song MS
• Cho HD
• Jeong DS
• Kim YJ
• Bae HG
• Kim SJ

• KMID: 1776528
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2012.27.3.346

Abstract

Granulomatous hypophysitis is a rare pituitary condition that commonly presents with enlargement of the pituitary gland. A 31-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with a severe headache and bitemporal hemianopsia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an 18 x 10-mm sellar mass with suprasellar extension and compression of the optic chiasm. Interestingly, brain MRI had shown no abnormal finding 4 months previously. On hormonal examination, hypopituitarism with mild hyperprolactinemia was noted. The biopsy revealed granulomatous changes with multinucleated giant cells. We herein report this rare case and discuss the relevant literature.

Keyword

Granulomatous hypophysitis; Headache; Hypopituitarism

MeSH Terms

Adult
Biopsy
Female
Giant Cells/pathology
Granuloma/complications/*diagnosis/therapy
Headache/etiology
Hemianopsia/etiology
Humans
Hyperprolactinemia/etiology
Hypopituitarism/etiology
Inflammation/complications/*diagnosis/therapy
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Optic Chiasm/pathology
Pituitary Diseases/complications/*diagnosis/therapy
Pituitary Function Tests
Pituitary Gland/*pathology/surgery
Predictive Value of Tests
Severity of Illness Index
Treatment Outcome