scholarly journals Pleurihormonal Pituitary Adenomas Presenting as Acromegaly

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A602-A602
Author(s):  
Megan Schwehr ◽  
Mayumi Endo

Abstract Background: Pleurihormonal pituitary adenomas represent 10-15% of all functioning pituitary adenomas1. One of the rarest combinations is ACTH-GH co-secretion with concomitant acromegaly and Cushing’s disease. Clinical Case: 30-year-old female with type 2 diabetes (A1c 11.4%) developed rapidly progressive peripheral neuropathy. Labs revealed a transaminitis. Hepatic ultrasound revealed fatty infiltration of the liver consistent with steatosis. Patient endorsed life-long “chicken legs”, buffalo hump, and easy bruising. She continued to have worsening paresthesias and stated her teeth were “more translucent”. At an endocrinology visit peripheral muscle wasting, atraumatic bruising at the ankles and toes,and striae on the abdomen, shoulders, breasts, and armpits were noted. She had also noted teeth separation and thinning over time and worsening diffuse joint aches. Lab results showed elevated cortisol value of 8.4 mcg/dl after 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test. 24-hour urine cortisol was elevated (87 ug/24 hrs, nl < 45 ug/24 hrs), confirming the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome. ACTH was inappropriately normal (56 pg/mL, nl 7.2 – 63 pg/mL), suggesting ACTH dependency. IGF-1 was elevated twice (328 ng/dL and 391 ng/dL, nl <303 ng/dL), and a GH suppression test was abnormal (GH 1.14 ng/mL at 90 minutes) confirming the diagnosis of acromegaly. Brain MRI revealed a cystic pituitary microadenoma (0.5 x 0.5 x 0.6 cm), and the patient underwent surgical resection via transnasal transsphenoidal pituitary surgery with total tumor removal. Immunostaining was positive for only synaptophysin and ACTH. Postoperative diagnosis of Cushing’s disease was made, with formal diagnosis of acromegaly pending improvement in follow-up IGF-1 levels. Literature reviews have revealed very few cases of pleurihormonal pituitary adenomas presenting with concomitant Cushing’s Syndrome and acromegaly. Roca et. al examined 17 studies which described 20 patients with this condition; only 4 presented with symptoms of both acromegaly and Cushing’s disease. In many cases previously reported, the clinical presentation of Cushing’s syndrome was subtle, often with subclinical Cushing’s syndrome, while patients had florid symptoms of acromegaly.1. Conclusion: This Cushing’s predominant case of a GH-ACTH co-secreting tumor is an incredibly rare presentation for this pleurihormonal pituitary adenoma, which is already a rare diagnosis. References: 1.Roca E, Mattogno PP, Porcelli T, Poliani L, Belotti F, Schreiber A, Maffezzoni F, Fontanella MM, Doglietto F. Plurihormonal ACTH-GH Pituitary Adenoma: Case Report and Systematic Literature Review. World Neurosurg. 2018 Jun;114:e158-e164. PMID: 29501516.

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shivanand P. Lad ◽  
Chirag G. Patil ◽  
Edward R. Laws ◽  
Laurence Katznelson

✓ Cushing's syndrome can present a complex problem of differential diagnosis. Of cases in which hypercortisolemia results from an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)–dependent process, approximately 80% are due to a pituitary adenoma (Cushing's disease [CD]), 10% are due to adrenal lesions, and the remaining 10% are secondary to ectopic ACTH secretion. For patients with CD, surgical removal of the pituitary adenoma is the treatment of choice. Thus, localization of the source of ACTH secretion is critical in guiding timely treatment decisions. Inferior petrosal sinus sampling (IPSS) is considered to be the gold standard for confirming the origin of ACTH secretion in patients with Cushing's syndrome. The authors present an overview of IPSS—both the technique and its interpretation—as well as a summary of recent studies. A number of other techniques are discussed including sampling from the cavernous sinus, the jugular vein, and multiple sites to aid the diagnosis and lateralization of ACTH-producing pituitary adenomas. Management is best undertaken by a comprehensive multidisciplinary team taking into account the results of all the biochemical and imaging studies available, to provide the best advice in patient treatment decisions.


Author(s):  
Omayma Elshafie ◽  
Nicholas Woodhouse

Aims: To determine whether the use of an octreotide suppression test will reliably distinguish pituitary from ectopic ACTH overproduction.  Somatostatin receptors are expressed in NETs, but are downgraded in the pituitary as the result of hypercortisolaemia. Octreotide should therefore lower ACTH and cortisol levels in patients with NETs but not in patients with Cushing’s disease and pituitary tumors. Methodology: A cross sectional study was performed in 13 patents with ACTH dependent Cushing’s (8 women, 5 men) with ages ranging between 21 to 40 years were studied. Serum cortisol concentrations were measured at 0800 hrs before and during the administration of. Octreotide at a dosage of 100 mcg subcutaneously every 8 hours for 72 hours. Results: The serum cortisol concentrations returned to normal in 4 patients who were later documented to have ectopic disease, two with typical bronchial carcinoids and two with pancreatic NETs and metastatic disease. The other 9 patients had no suppression in serum cortisol concentrations and were documented later to have pituitary tumours. Conclusion: These results indicate that a short trial of octreotide will identify patients with ectopic disease as evidenced by a fall in serum cortisol levels whereas in those with Cushing’s disease and pituitary tumours serum cortisol levels remains unchanged.  Recommendation: We recommend all patients with ACTH dependent Cushing’s syndrome have an octreotide suppression test, even if the MRI shows an adenoma, so as to exclude the possibility of a pituitary incidentaloma in a patient with ectopic disease, or false localization from IPSS to the pituitary gland due to ectopic CRH secretion.


1993 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berthold Hocher ◽  
Volker Bähr ◽  
Severin Dorfmüller ◽  
Wolfgang Oelkers

We report on a female patient with Cushing's syndrome in whom we observed the transition from pituitary dependency to adrenal dependency. Basal ACTH and cortisol values, the CRH test, the dexamethasone suppression test as well as CT of the pituitary and the adrenal gland all reflected pituitary-dependent Cushing's disease in 1985. The patient refused treatment, but presented again five years later. At that time ACTH was suppressed before and after CRH injection. Plasma cortisol did not respond to CRH. After ketoconazole therapy, ACTH was within the high normal range. The patient underwent bilateral adrenalectomy. The adrenals exhibited a bilateral micronodular hyperplasia of the zona fasciculata. In vitro examination of adrenal cells revealed a maintained ACTH response. Some weeks postoperatively, the patient died from pneumonia. Histological examination later showed a chromophobe pituitary microadenoma; ACTH was demonstrated immunohistologically in the adenoma. We postulate that some cases of pituitary Cushing's disease initially exhibit a bilateral homogeneous adrenal hyperplasia which then develops into a nodular hyperplasia; in the next stage of the disease, single micronodules may become autonomous and elevated cortisol levels suppress ACTH secretion of the pituitary adenoma.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Bongetta ◽  
Cesare Zoia ◽  
Francesco Lombardi ◽  
Elisabetta Lovati ◽  
Pietro Lucotti ◽  
...  

Diseases responsive to glucocorticoids, like sarcoidosis, are rarely masked by Cushing’s syndrome. An ACTH secreting pituitary adenoma is a possible cause of Cushing’s syndrome and its resection can make a subclinical sarcoidosis clear. Only few cases of sarcoidosis following the treatment of hypercortisolism are reported in literature. We report a case of sarcoidosis after the resection of an ACTH secreting pituitary adenoma.


1986 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 861-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack L. Katz ◽  
Herbert Weiner ◽  
Jacob Kream ◽  
Barnett Zumoff

This report describes a 17-year old student who was found to have Cushing's syndrome two years after she had developed anorexia nervosa (AN). The Cushing's syndrome was treated with bilateral resection of enlarged, hyperplastic, non-tumoraus adrenal glands. The diagnosis was further confirmed four years later when, two to three years after new symptoms had appeared, an ACTH secreting pituitary adenoma (that is, Cushing's disease) was found on surgery. The possible mechanism for the development of Cushing's disease in a patient with prior anorexia nervosa, a sequence of events reported once previously, is discussed. It is suggested that increased hypothalamić-pituitary corticotroph stimulation in association with the anorexia nervosa, a now well-established endocrine phenomenon, activated an occult, inactive pituitary basophil adenoma in this patient, eventually resulting in autonomous pituitary overproduction of ACTH by the tumor.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siyuan Yu ◽  
Michael Karsy ◽  
Jeffrey Miller ◽  
Stephanie R. Beldick ◽  
Mark T. Curtis ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Cushing’s disease (CD) remains a challenging condition to diagnose and treat. This case study highlights the challenges of diagnosing CD when faced with discrepant clinical, biochemical, and radiological findings. OBSERVATIONS A 62-year-old man presented with rapid evolution of symptoms, including depression, fatigue, and extreme muscle atrophy, which resulted in the patient being a wheelchair user over the course of a few months. His rapid clinical course in conjunction with hypercortisolemia in the setting of a pituitary macroadenoma involving the cavernous sinus, two large pulmonary nodules, and urine-free cortisol levels in the thousands suggested an aggressive ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) source. After extensive testing ruled out CD from an ectopic source and because of the patient’s abrupt clinical deterioration, the authors concluded that the source was likely an aggressive pituitary adenoma. Therefore, the authors performed an endonasal transsphenoidal approach for resection of the pituitary adenoma involving the cavernous sinus, and the patient was scheduled for radiosurgery to control tumor progression. LESSONS Although extremely high levels of cortisol and ACTH are associated with ectopic Cushing’s syndrome, they may also indicate an aggressive form of CD. Suspicion should be maintained for hypercortisolemia from a pituitary source even when faced with discrepant information that may suggest an ectopic source.


1963 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-194
Author(s):  
Menek Goldstein ◽  
Marcel Gut ◽  
Ralph I. Dorfman ◽  
Louis J. Soffer ◽  
J. Lester Gabrilove

ABSTRACT Incubation of cholesterol-4-14C and pregnenolone-7-3H with a homogenate of adenomatous adrenal tissue from a patient with Cushing's disease yielded 14C and 3H labelled, cortisol, cortisone, 11-deoxycortisol, deoxycorticosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and 11β-hydroxy-androst-4-3,17-dione.


2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. E4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivek Bansal ◽  
Nadine El Asmar ◽  
Warren R. Selman ◽  
Baha M. Arafah

Despite many recent advances, the management of patients with Cushing's disease continues to be challenging. Cushing's syndrome is a complex metabolic disorder that is a result of excess glucocorticoids. Excluding the exogenous causes, adrenocorticotropic hormone–secreting pituitary adenomas account for nearly 70% of all cases of Cushing's syndrome. The suspicion, diagnosis, and differential diagnosis require a logical systematic approach with attention paid to key details at each investigational step. A diagnosis of endogenous Cushing's syndrome is usually suspected in patients with clinical symptoms and confirmed by using multiple biochemical tests. Each of the biochemical tests used to establish the diagnosis has limitations that need to be considered for proper interpretation. Although some tests determine the total daily urinary excretion of cortisol, many others rely on measurements of serum cortisol at baseline and after stimulation (e.g., after corticotropin-releasing hormone) or suppression (e.g., dexamethasone) with agents that influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Other tests (e.g., measurements of late-night salivary cortisol concentration) rely on alterations in the diurnal rhythm of cortisol secretion. Because more than 90% of the cortisol in the circulation is protein bound, any alteration in the binding proteins (transcortin and albumin) will automatically influence the measured level and confound the interpretation of stimulation and suppression data, which are the basis for establishing the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome. Although measuring late-night salivary cortisol seems to be an excellent initial test for hypercortisolism, it may be confounded by poor sampling methods and contamination. Measurements of 24-hour urinary free-cortisol excretion could be misleading in the presence of some pathological and physiological conditions. Dexamethasone suppression tests can be affected by illnesses that alter the absorption of the drug (e.g., malabsorption, celiac disease) and by the concurrent use of medications that interfere with its metabolism (e.g., inducers and inhibitors of the P450 enzyme system). In this review, the authors aim to review the pitfalls commonly encountered in the workup of patients suspected to have hypercortisolism. The optimal diagnosis and therapy for patients with Cushing's disease require the thorough and close coordination and involvement of all members of the management team.


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