A Case of Pituitary Macroadenoma Accompanied with CRH Deficiency / 대한내분비학회지

ABSTRACT

Pituitary tumor can be accompanied with various pituitary hormone abnormalities. Pituitary tumors can be divided into functioning or nonfunctioning tumors. A functioning pituitary tumor, via the oversecretion of pituitary hormones, causes diverse clinical features. A nonfunctioning pituitary tumor can be accompanied with pituitary dysfunction and this may be due to compression or destruction of normal pituitary tissue, suppression of the pituitary portal system or direct damage to the hypothalamus. Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) deficiency, which is caused by defects in the synthesis or release of CRH, is a cause of secondary adrenocortical insufficiency. The clinical presentations are hypoglycemia, weight loss, anemia, weakness, nausea, vomiting and hyponatremia. Acquired CRH deficiency has also been suggested to occur based on a lack of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia, but there is a normal ACTH response to exogenous CRH. We experienced a case of a woman with pituitary macroadenoma accompanied with CRH deficiency. We report here on this case with the review of the literature.