Pituitary hyperplasia: an uncommon presentation of a common disease.

UNLABELLED: A 21-year-old woman presented with amenorrhea, bilateral galactorrhea and fatigue. Visual acuity and visual fields were normal. Laboratory examination demonstrated hyperprolactinemia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pituitary showed a 19×17×12-mm sellar mass with supra- and parasellar extension, causing compression of the pituitary stalk and optic chiasm. Further examinations confirmed mild hyperprolactinemia, strongly elevated TSH (>500 mU/l), low free thyroxine (FT4), hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and secondary adrenal insufficiency. Hydrocortisone and l-T4 replacement therapy was started. Three months later, the galactorrhea had disappeared, thyroid function was normalized and MRI revealed regression of the pituitary enlargement, confirming the diagnosis of pituitary hyperplasia (PH) due to primary hypothyroidism. Subsequently, the menstrual cycle returned and the hypocortisolism normalized. This case demonstrates that severe primary hypothyroidism may have an unusual presentation and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pituitary enlargement associated with moderate hyperprolactinemia. LEARNING POINTS: One should always try to find one etiology as the common cause of all the clinical findings in a pathologic process.Amenorrhea, galactorrhea and fatigue may be the only presenting clinical manifestations of primary hypothyroidism.Not every patient with galactorrhea, hyperprolactinemia and a pituitary mass has a prolactinoma.Primary hypothyroidism should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of hyperprolactinemia associated with pituitary enlargement and pituitary hormone(s) deficiency(ies).When PH due to primary hypothyroidism is suspected, thyroid hormone replacement should be started and only regression of pituitary enlargement on MRI follow-up can confirm the diagnosis.Examination of thyroid function in patients with a pituitary mass may avoid unnecessary surgery.

Severe juvenile type paracoccidioidomycosis in an adult.

Paracoccidioidomycosis has recently been classified into juvenile (acute) and adult (chronic) forms. The latter affects middle-aged men and causes mucocutaneous lesions, while the more rare juvenile form affects the reticuloendothelial system of children and adults of both sexes under 30 years of age. It is not yet known, however, if the patient's age has a role in determining the immune response patterns to the fungus and the evolution to one form or the other. We present a 45-year-old man who presented with juvenile type disease characterized by intra-abdominal polyadenopathy forming a large epigastric mass. Immune evaluation showed high titres of anti-Paracoccidioides brasiliensis antibodies and an antigen-specific cellular immune defect. Treatment resulted in resolution of the clinical and immune abnormalities. His epidemiological background also suggested acute disease: he developed disease after moving from an urban to a rural endemic area. We suggest that acute or juvenile disease may occur in a previously healthy, susceptible individual when moving to an endemic area, at whatever age.