ABSTRACT
Central diabetes insipidus (DI) was detected in a patient with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) who had been molecularly and serologically diagnosed with Hantaan virus infection. We recommend that clinicians differentiate central DI in HFRS patients with a persistent diuretic phase even when pituitary MRI findings are normal.
Subject(s)
Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic/physiopathology , Hantaan virus/genetics , Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome/physiopathology , Hypopituitarism/physiopathology , Deamino Arginine Vasopressin/therapeutic use , Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic/diagnostic imaging , Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic/metabolism , Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic/virology , Hantaan virus/classification , Hantaan virus/isolation & purification , Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome/diagnostic imaging , Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome/metabolism , Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome/virology , Humans , Hypopituitarism/diagnostic imaging , Hypopituitarism/metabolism , Hypopituitarism/virology , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Middle Aged , Phylogeny , Thyroxine/therapeutic useABSTRACT
We report a case of central diabetes insipidus (CDI) in a patient with AIDS due to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection of the vasopressin-producing areas of the hypothalamus. The clinical diagnosis is established by definitive clinical and laboratory evidence of CDI. Detailed histopathological and immunohistochemical studies establish CMV as the causative agent and demonstrate the deficit of vasopressin in the synthesizing neurons. Physicians caring for patients with AIDS should be aware of CDI and adipsic hypernatremia as potential complications of CMV infection. The case also demonstrates that patients with diabetes insipidus do not have polyuria when glucocorticoid deficiency coexists.
Subject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/complications , Cytomegalovirus Infections/complications , Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic/virology , Hypothalamus/virology , Adult , Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic/metabolism , Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic/pathology , Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic/physiopathology , Fatal Outcome , Humans , Hypothalamus/metabolism , Immunohistochemistry , Male , Vasopressins/deficiencyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To describe a patient immunocompromised by Cushing's syndrome in whom central diabetes insipidus developed as a complication of herpes simplex involvement of the hypothalamus. METHODS: We present a case, including results of laboratory and histopathologic studies, in which herpes simplex was established as the causative agent for central diabetes insipidus. RESULTS: A woman with ectopic corticotropin-dependent Cushing's syndrome, diabetes mellitus, carcinoid tumor, and a history of thyroid cancer had the precipitous onset of seizure and fever, and hypotonic polyuria and progressive hypernatremia developed. Central diabetes insipidus was diagnosed and successfully treated with desmopressin. Nevertheless, the patient's condition deteriorated and she died. Autopsy revealed herpes simplex encephalitis involving the magnicellular neurons of the hypothalamus. CONCLUSION: Central diabetes insipidus caused by viral infections has been reported in immunosuppressed patients, such as those with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). To our knowledge, this is the first report of a herpes infection causing diabetes insipidus in a patient immunosuppressed by Cushing's syndrome. This case demonstrates that, in patients with Cushing's syndrome, diabetes insipidus may develop as a result of herpes simplex infection of the hypothalamus.
