HYPERTHYROIDISM IN A PATIENT WITH POSTPARTUM NECROSIS OF THE PITUITARY: CASE REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

A patient with postpartum necrosis of the pituitary is presented, who exhibited evidence of panhypopituitarism for fifteen years following uterine hemorrhage. Three years after initiation of therapy with cortisone and desiccated thyroid, and eighteen years post partum, thyrotoxicosis developed. Active hyperthyroidism persisted, but there was continued evidence of pituitary insufficiency with respect to secretion of gonadotropic, thyrotropic, and adreno-corticotropic hormones. The evidence suggests that excessive secretion of pituitary thyrotropic hormone was not the cause of the hyperthyroidism of Graves'' disease in this patient.