Failure of bromocriptine to maintain reduction in size of a macroprolactinoma.

A patient with a macroprolactinoma was treated with bromocriptine 15 mg daily. Both the size of the tumour as shown by computed tomography and the serum prolactin concentration decreased over several months but then increased. The dose of bromocriptine was increased to 40 mg daily but tumour growth continued, and the tumour was resected. Production of prolactin by cultured cells was not inhibited by high concentrations of bromocriptine, suggesting that regrowth of the tumour was due to cells resistant to dopamine agonist action. This case of regrowth of a prolactinoma during bromocriptine treatment after an initial reduction in size indicates the need for close surveillance especially of patients whose serum prolactin concentration fails to fall into the normal range with bromocriptine treatment.

Visual failure during replacement therapy in primary hypothyroidism with pituitary enlargement.

A 34-year-old woman with longstanding untreated thyroprivic hypothyroidism and pituitary enlargement is reported here in whom visual failure coincided with thyroid hormone replacement. Visual fields were normal after 30 years untreated hypothyroidism, but severe concentric field constriction developed during the first 6 months of therapy and was relieved by hypophysectomy. Plasma TSH and prolactin remained elevated during 10 months replacement therapy, but both were suppressed by preoperative hyperreplacement with T3 and T4. The paradoxical pressure symptoms suggest imbalance between pituitary TSH content and TSH release during treatment with thyroid hormone; a finding previously reported in animal studies. This sequence suggests that patients with known pituitary enlargement secondary to thyroid hypofunction should be observed for pressure symptoms during thyroid hormone treatment.