1/16. Galactorrhoea and pituitary mass: a typical prolactinoma?A 21 year old woman presenting with galactorrhoea, hyperprolactinaemia, and a pituitary mass on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is described who was referred to us before planned pituitary surgery. Although a thorough history did not suggest hypothyroidism, laboratory studies revealed profound primary hypothyroidism. At that time, pituitary MRI showed homogeneous enlargement of the pituitary gland consistent with pituitary hyperplasia due to primary hypothyroidism. With thyroid hormone replacement therapy the galactorrhoea resolved, concentrations of prolactin and thyroid hormones returned to normal, and the pituitary shrunk to normal size within two months. This case illustrates that primary hypothyroidism can present only with galactorrhoea and pituitary mass, and should therefore be considered in the differential diagnosis of hyperprolactinaemia and pituitary enlargement.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/16. Transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary gigantism and galactorrhea in a 3.5 year old child.The management of pituitary macroadenomas which lead to gigantism may require multiple therapeutical approaches, including medical treatment, surgery, and radiation therapy. Transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) during early childhood that achieves total removal of a growth hormone (GH) secreting tumor is rarely reported. The surgeon is confronted with special problems regarding the infantile anatomy. In this case, a 3.5 year old child, the youngest successfully treated by TSS so far, suffered from a GH- and prolactin (PRL) secreting macroadenoma of the pituitary gland. The girl initially presented with an increasing growth rate, later with breast development, and finally, at the age of 2.8 years, with galactorrhea and secretion of blood from the nipples. Increased levels of GH [122 micrograms/l], insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) [830 micrograms/l], insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) [8.6 mg/l] and PRL [590 micrograms/l] were found. MRI scans revealed a macroadenoma of 2.7 cm diameter. An eight-week trial of relatively low dose dopamine agonists led to a reduction of PRL, while the GH- and IGF-1 levels remained unchanged; the tumor showed only little shrinkage. Since there was chiasma compression, we opted for early TSS. A complete tumor removal was achieved despite the difficulties of a narrow approach. After TSS, low levels of GH, IGF-1, and PRL documented a complete tumor removal, but persistent diabetes insipidus and anterior lobe deficits resulted from surgery. In summary, if primary medical therapy alone is unable to adequately reduce hormone hypersecretion and tumor size in early childhood, TSS is recommended. Thus, radiation therapy may be reserved for surgical failure.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/16. The spectrum and significance of primary hypophysitis.Hypophysitis can present clinically as a mass lesion of the sella turcica. Secondary hypophysitis occurs in cases where a definite etiologic agent or process inciting the inflammatory reaction can be identified. In contrast, primary hypophysitis refers to inflammation confined to the pituitary gland with no identifiable etiologic associations. We report three cases of primary hypophysitis to illustrate the spectrum of three clinicopathological entities that encompass this disease: lymphocytic hypophysitis, granulomatous hypophysitis, and xanthomatous hypophysitis. Our three patients underwent surgery, with variable response. However, conservative, supportive treatment with or without surgical decompression is generally favored over aggressive and extensive surgical resection that results in hypopituitarism. We conclude that the optimal management of patients with hyophysitis requires a high index of suspicion before extensive surgical resection. Histological confirmation of the diagnosis of hypophysitis can be obtained by performing a biopsy or by requesting an intraoperative frozen section consultation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/16. Unusual case presentation of lichen simplex chronicus, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and nonpuerperal hyperprolactinemia-galactorrhea.OBJECTIVE: To report the association of nonpuerperal galactorrhea and severe pruritus with clinical stage IIB Hodgkin's lymphoma. methods: We present a detailed history, findings on physical examination, laboratory data, and results of diagnostic imaging in a 25-year-old woman. A review of the related literature and speculations about possible etiologic factors for this association are provided. RESULTS: Dermatologic evaluation of the patient revealed lichen simplex chronicus with multiple excoriations on the anterior chest area and lower extremities. High serum prolactin concentrations and easily expressible galactorrhea were present. magnetic resonance imaging of the sella with 1-mm cuts, however, revealed a normal pituitary gland. Computed tomography showed multiple enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes, and a left supraclavicular lymph node biopsy revealed the presence of reed-sternberg cells and lymphocyte alterations consistent with the diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma. After one cycle of chemotherapy for management of the lymphoma, parallel reductions in serum prolactin concentrations and galactorrhea were noted. CONCLUSION: Possible causes for this syndrome include afferent mammary nerve stimulation resulting from scratching of pruritic skin and cytokine-induced hypersecretion of prolactin attributable to the lymphoma. Although uncommon, this syndrome may serve as an important harbinger of developing Hodgkin's lymphoma, and its disappearance may signify a therapeutic response.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/16. amenorrhea-galactorrhea syndrome as an uncommon manifestation of isolated neurosarcoidosis.The involvement of the hypothalamic and/or the pituitary gland during granulomatous, infiltrative or autoimmune diseases is a rare condition of acquired hypothalamic dysfunction and non-tumoral-non-vascular hypopituitarism. sarcoidosis is a pathogen-free granulomatous disease which affects both central and peripheral nervous systems in 5-16% of patients. In most cases, nervous involvement by sarcoidosis occurs within a multi-systemic disease, although disease localization limited to the nervous system has also been reported. We observed a 26-year-old Italian woman presenting with low-grade fever, headache, visual disturbances, amenorrhea-galactorrhea syndrome and pituitary failure due to an infiltrative lesion involving the hypothalamus and the pituitary stalk. At first, the diagnosis of "probable" neurosarcoidosis was made according to the clinical picture, magnetic resonance imaging, and the study of cerebrospinal fluid lymphocyte sub-populations. In this case, hyperprolactinemic amenorrhea and galactorrhea combined with blunted responses of gonadotropins to luteinizing hormone releasing hormone and acquired growth hormone failure were to be considered as an infrequent manifestation of neurosarcoidosis limited to the medio-basal brain, without other disease localization. Forty-eight months after disease onset, the occurrence of mediastinal lymph node enlargement and increase of angiotensin converting enzyme in serum allowed us to confirm the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. Neurosarcoidosis is often hard to diagnose, especially when the neurological localization of the disease is not accompanied by other possible systemic signs, and when the lesion is too deep to obtain biopsy confirmation. The study of cerebrospinal fluid and blood lymphocyte sub-populations integrated by magnetic resonance imaging may be helpful for a correct diagnosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/16. Galactorrhoea following acupuncture.A 41-year-old woman with breast cancer was referred to the pain management clinic for a course of acupuncture for intense pain following a subcutaneous mastectomy and a latissimus dorsi flap reconstruction. She was treated with a standard course of acupuncture for breast pain, using paravertebral segmental points, trigger points, plus contralateral L14 on the non-lymphoedematous arm. She experienced an episode of galactorrhoea six days following the first treatment and during the second treatment. She had not previously lactated for four years. CT and MRI of the brain revealed no focal abnormality. acupuncture has been used in to promote lactation in the Traditional Chinese literature using the 'Tianzong' acupoint SI11. This acupoint coincided with a trigger point over infraspinatus that was included in the neurophysiologically based acupuncture treatment. Quantitative analysis has shown an increase in the production of prolactin and oxytocin following acupuncture. These hormones are involved in the synthesis and release of milk from mammary glands respectively. This is the first report of galactorrhoea, in the contralateral normal breast, following acupuncture in a patient with breast cancer.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/16. sella turcica metastasis from follicular carcinoma of thyroid.A case of metastasis to the sella turcica from a follicular adenocarcinoma of the thyroid gland is presented. Metastasis to this site is rare and review of the literature reveals only 12 cases of metastatic thyroid carcinoma involving the sella turcica and pituitary gland. The optimal treatment strategy is still to be determined. A 43-year-old woman presented with headache, nausea, visual impairment and galactorrhea. An MRI scan of the cranium revealed an enhancing destructive sellar lesion. The patient underwent transsphenoidal removal of the lesion to alleviate visual loss. The histological features of the sellar tumor were identical to those of a follicular adenocarcinoma partially removed from the thyroid gland 22 months earlier. Total thyroidectomy followed by three courses of iodine-131 ablation enhanced with synthetic thyrotropin and thyroid hormone suppression therapy was instituted. The post-operative course was satisfactory with improved vision and ceased galactorrhea. This case was successfully treated with a combination of surgical removal, iodine-131 ablation and hormone suppression therapy, which resulted in disease control duration of four years. sella turcica metastases of thyroid carcinoma are exceedingly rare and currently there are no established therapeutic guidelines.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/16. Concurrent lymphocytic hypophysitis and pituitary adenoma. Case report and review of the literature.Lymphocytic hypophysitis (LyH) is an uncommon intrasellar lesion characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of the adenohypophysis. Evidence suggests that the cause is autoimmune, and the symptoms are usually related to either a mass effect or endocrine dysfunction. Lymphocytic hypophysitis has been described rarely in the setting of other simultaneous pathological processes that involve the pituitary and sella turcica, and is postulated to arise from an intrinsic inflammatory response. The authors report the case of a 43-year-old woman who presented with a 2-month history of galactorrhea and pseudohyperprolactinemia secondary to a 10-mm lesion within an enlarged pituitary gland. She was nulliparous and had no contributory medical history. Serial neuroimaging performed over a 2-year period demonstrated lesion growth, and visual deficits had developed; together these warranted surgical intervention. A transsphenoidal resection was performed. Microscopic and immunohistopathological examinations revealed a nonsecreting pituitary adenoma with concurrent lymphocytic adenohypophysitis. This is the first documented case of LyH in the setting of a null-cell pituitary adenoma. The authors review the related literature and outline potential mechanisms for the concurrent development of LyH and a pituitary adenoma.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/16. Medullary thyroid carcinoma: ectopic production of peptides with ACTH-like, corticotrophin releasing factor-like and prolactin production-stimulating activities.A 45-year-old women had medullary tyroid carcinoma associated with Cushing's syndrome and galactorrhoea. Elevated plasma immunoreactive ACTH and cortisol were partially suppressed by intravenous dexamethasone, appreciably raised by lysine vasopressin, and urinary excretion of 17-oxogenic steroids slightly elevated by metyrapone. A large arterio-venous increase in plasma corticotrophin releasing factor-like activity across the thyroid gland was observed and tumour tissue contained corticotrophin releasing factor-like activity. Biologically active ACTH was not detected in tumour extracts before incubation with trypsin, but after trypsinization a value of 3.2 mU per gram was obtained. Arterial plasma contained biologically active ACTH (1.5 mU/100 ml) prior to trypsinization. Venous effluent from the thyroid gland contained biologically active (9.6 mU/100 ml) and immunoreactive ACTH (970 pg/ml) before trypsinization. Tumour extracts also contained prolactin production-stimulating activity. These findings can explain the Cushing's syndrome and the galactorrhoea both of which disappeared completely after thyroidectomy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/16. Spontaneous regression of anterior pituitary deficits in a woman harboring a persistent hypothalamic mass.Sellar or parasellar lesions can cause anterior pituitary dysfunction either by direct damage to the anterior pituitary gland or by compression of the pituitary stalk and mediobasal hypothalamus which contain the hypophysiotropic hormones. Without treatment, the pituitary deficits in such cases are not likely to improve. We describe a case in which deficits in anterior pituitary hormones spontaneously remitted in a woman who had a persistent hypothalamic lesion that was not amenable to surgery or radiotherapy. The factors that may predict spontaneous recovery of anterior pituitary function in such cases are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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