Spontaneous remission of acromegaly and Cushing's disease following pituitary apoplexy: Two case reports

• Published in: Netherlands journal of medicine Vol. 73; no. 5; pp. 242 - 246
• Main Authors: Roerink, S H P P, van Lindert, E J, van de Ven, A C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 01-06-2015
• Subjects: Acromegaly - physiopathology; Adenoma - pathology; Adult; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Pituitary ACTH Hypersecretion - physiopathology; Pituitary Apoplexy - pathology; Pituitary Neoplasms - pathology; Remission, Spontaneous
• ISSN: 1872-9061

In this double case report, we present two special cases of pituitary apoplexy. First, we describe a patient with growth hormone deficiency despite clinical suspicion of acromegaly. Imaging showed evidence of a recent pituitary apoplexy, which might have caused spontaneous remission of the acromegaly before presentation at our outpatient clinic. Second, we describe a patient who presented with spontaneous remission of Cushing's disease after pituitary apoplexy, followed by a spontaneous remission of a relapse of the Cushing's disease due to a second pituitary apoplexy. These cases show that patients in spontaneous remission of hormonally active pituitary adenomas should be suspected of a pituitary apoplexy. Furthermore, even after spontaneous remission following pituitary apoplexy, careful long-term follow-up of these patients is mandatory, as relapses of hormonal hypersecretion can occur.