Lymphocytic Hypophysitis

Excerpt

Endocrine glands are particularly likely to be affected by organ-specific autoimmune disease. Thyroid autoimmune disease, for instance, is well recognized and common. Autoimmune disease of the anterior pituitary, however, is little known and appears to be rare. Nevertheless, there is strong pathologic evidence of its existence; commencing with the report of Goudie and Pinkerton (1) in 1962 of lymphocytic hypophysitis seen at autopsy in a young woman with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, there are now seven reported cases with histologic observations.

In this issue Asa and her colleagues (2) report two further cases, with ultrastructural evidence supporting an autoimmune basis for the