Pituitary Stalk Thickening

Pituitary stalk thickening in a case of langerhans cell histiocytosis.

A 16-year-old girl was referred for the evaluation of headache exacerbation and progressive loss of visual field from one month ago. She also suffered from intermittent diarrhea since 12 months ago and secondary amenorrhea, headache, weight loss (4 - 5 kg) and weakness from six months ago. She had a history of transient polydipsia and excessive urine output during this period. Brain Magnetic Re...

Idiopathic hypothalamic diabetes insipidus, pituitary stalk thickening, and the occult intracranial germinoma in children and adolescents.

We report nine consecutive children and adolescents [five females and four males; aged 2 yr 8 months (m) to 18 yr 1 m] studied over the last 5 yr with idiopathic central diabetes insipidus. In addition to vasopressin deficiency, anterior pituitary hormone deficiencies were detected, either on evaluation at presentation or during follow-up studies over the following 3 yr. Four patients had an in...

Pituitary stalk lesions.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW To describe the diverse causes of pituitary stalk lesions, their diagnosis, and treatment. RECENT FINDINGS Pathology of the pituitary stalk is often distinct from disease processes that affect the hypothalamus and/or pituitary. Pituitary stalk lesions fall into one of three categories: congenital, inflammatory/infectious, and neoplastic lesions. SUMMARY Stalk thickening ma...

Missing Pituitary Stalk: A Key to the Diagnosis

CT of the normal pituitary stalk.

A prospective study assessed the size and frequency of visualization of the normal pituitary stalk on high-resolution computed tomography (CT). The normal pituitary stalk can be seen on the vast majority of high-resolution scans obtained with thin sections and intravenous contrast material. The upper size limit of the normal pituitary stalk is 4 mm at the level of the dorsum sellae and 4.5 mm a...