Diagnosis and Treatment > Signs and Symptoms
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Summary
Pituitary apoplexy is a rare but potentially life-threatening clinical syndrome characterised by ischaemic infarction or haemorrhage into a pituitary tumour that can lead to spontaneous remission of hormonal hypersecretion. We report the case of a 50-year-old man who attended the emergency department for sudden onset of headache. A computed tomography (CT) scan at admission revealed pituitary haemorrhage and the blood test confirmed the clinical suspicion of acromegaly and an associated hypopituitarism. The T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed the classic pituitary ring sign on the right side of the pituitary. Following admission, he developed acute-onset hyponatraemia that required hypertonic saline administration, improving progressively. Surprisingly, during the follow-up, IGF1 levels became normal and he progressively recovered pituitary function.
Learning points:
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Patients with pituitary apoplexy may have spontaneous remission of hormonal hypersecretion. If it is not an emergency, we should delay a decision to undertake surgery following apoplexy and re-evaluate hormone secretion.
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Hyponatraemia is an acute sign of hypocortisolism in pituitary apoplexy. However, SIADH although uncommon, could appear later as a consequence of direct hypothalamic insult and requires active and individualised treatment. For this reason, closely monitoring sodium at the beginning of the episode and throughout the first week is advisable to guard against SIADH.
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Despite being less frequent, if pituitary apoplexy is limited to the tumour, the patient can recover pituitary function previously damaged by the undiagnosed macroadenoma.
Department of Endocrinology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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Department of Endocrinology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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Department of Endocrinology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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Summary
The granulation pattern of somatotroph adenomas is well known to be associated with differing clinical and biochemical characteristics, and it has been shown that sparsely granulated tumours respond poorly to commonly used somatostatin receptor ligands (SRLs). We report a challenging case of acromegaly with a sparsely granulated tumour resistant to multiple modalities of treatment, ultimately achieving biochemical control with pasireotide. A 26-year-old lady presented with classical features of acromegaly, which was confirmed by an oral glucose tolerance test. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) was 1710 µg/L (103–310 µg/L) and mean growth hormone (GH) was >600 U/L. MRI scan showed a 4 cm pituitary macroadenoma with suprasellar extension and right-sided cavernous sinus invasion. She underwent trans-sphenoidal pituitary surgery. Histology displayed moderate amounts of sparsely granular eosinophilic cytoplasm, staining only for GH. Postoperative investigations showed uncontrolled disease (IGF1:1474 µg/L, mean GH:228 U/L) and residual tumour in the cavernous sinus. She received external beam fractionated radiation. Over the years, she received octreotide LAR (up to 30 mg), lanreotide (up to 120 mg) two weekly, cabergoline, pegvisomant and stereotactic radiosurgery to no avail. Only pegvisomant resulted in an element of disease control; however, this had to be stopped due to abnormal liver function tests. Fifteen years after the diagnosis, she was started on pasireotide 40 mg monthly. Within a month, her IGF1 dropped and has remained within the normal range (103–310 µg/L). Pasireotide has been well tolerated, and there has been significant clinical improvement. Somatostatin receptor subtyping revealed a positivity score of two for both sst5 and sst2a subtypes.
Learning points:
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Age, size of the tumour, GH levels on presentation, histopathological type and the somatostatin receptor status of the tumour in acromegaly should be reviewed in patients who poorly respond to first-generation somatostatin receptor ligands.
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Tumours that respond poorly to first-generation somatostatin receptor ligands, especially sparsely granulated somatotroph adenomas, can respond to pasireotide and treatment should be considered early in the management of resistant tumours.
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Patients with membranous expression of sst5 are likely to be more responsive to pasireotide.
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Summary
Pachydermoperiostosis is a very rare osteoarthrodermopathic disorder whose clinical and radiographic presentations may mimic those of acromegaly. In the evaluation of patients with acromegaloid appearances, pachydermoperiostosis should be considered as a differential diagnosis. In this article, we report a 17-year-old boy who presented with 2-year history of acral enlargement and facial appearance changes associated with joint pain and excessive sweating. He had been investigated extensively for acromegaly, and the final diagnosis was pachydermoperiostosis.
Learning points
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There is a broad range of differential diagnosis for acromegaloid features such as acromegaly, pseudoacromegaly with severe insulin resistance, Marfan’s syndrome, McCune–Albright and a rare condition called pachydermoperiostosis.
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Once a patient is suspected to have acromegaly, the first step is biochemical testing to confirm the clinical diagnosis, followed by radiologic testing to determine the cause of the excess growth hormone (GH) secretion. The cause is a somatotroph adenoma of the pituitary in over 95 percent of cases.
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The first step is measurement of a serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1). A normal serum IGF1 concentration is strong evidence that the patient does not have acromegaly.
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If the serum IGF1 concentration is high (or equivocal), serum GH should be measured after oral glucose administration. Inadequate suppression of GH after a glucose load confirms the diagnosis of acromegaly.
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Once the presence of excess GH secretion is confirmed, the next step is pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
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Atypical presentation warrants revision of the diagnosis. This patient presented with clubbing with no gigantism, which is expected in adolescent acromegalics as the growth spurt and epiphyseal plate closure have not taken place yet.
