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Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society 1996;25(7): 1489-1495. |
Silent Corticotropic Adenomas of the Pituitary Gland: Cases Report. |
Choong Hyun Kim, Young Il Ha |
Department of Neurosurgery, Kangnam General Hospital, Public Corporation, Seoul, Korea. |
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ABSTRACT |
This is our report of two cases of pituitary adenoma containing immunoreactive adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH) in tumor specimens but unassociated with Cushing's disease.
The first case is a 39-year-old male with visual disturbance for 3 years. He was in a eucorticoid state clinically and biochemically. A large size pituitary tumor was found and removed by trans-sphenoidal approach. The tumor specimen was confirmed as adenoma with hematoxylin and eosin(H & E) staining;and immunohistochemical study demonstrated strong positivity for ACTH. The second case is a 61-year-old female with progressive deterioration of visual function and headache. She had no signs of symptoms of hormonal excess and was found to have a pituitary macroadenoma which was then removed by the trans-sphenoidal route. Surgical specimen also showed findings of adenoma;and immunohistochemical study revealed the presence of ACTH in biopsy. Since silent corticotropic adenoma of the pituitary gland is rarely encountered, the authors therefore report these 2 cases and causes of endocrinologic silence with review of literatures. |
Key Words:
Pituitary adenoma; Silent corticotropic adenoma; ACTH; Immunohistochemistry; Electron microscopy |
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