Skip to main content
Postgraduate Medical Journal logoLink to Postgraduate Medical Journal
. 2000 Apr;76(894):232–234. doi: 10.1136/pmj.76.894.232

Galactorrhoea and pituitary mass: a typical prolactinoma?

M Brandle 1, C Schmid 1
PMCID: PMC1741546  PMID: 10727570

Abstract

A 21 year old woman presenting with galactorrhoea, hyperprolactinaemia, and a pituitary mass on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is described who was referred to us before planned pituitary surgery. Although a thorough history did not suggest hypothyroidism, laboratory studies revealed profound primary hypothyroidism. At that time, pituitary MRI showed homogeneous enlargement of the pituitary gland consistent with pituitary hyperplasia due to primary hypothyroidism. With thyroid hormone replacement therapy the galactorrhoea resolved, concentrations of prolactin and thyroid hormones returned to normal, and the pituitary shrunk to normal size within two months. This case illustrates that primary hypothyroidism can present only with galactorrhoea and pituitary mass, and should therefore be considered in the differential diagnosis of hyperprolactinaemia and pituitary enlargement. 


Keywords: primary hypothyroidism; galactorrhoea; pituitary mass

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (119.1 KB).


Articles from Postgraduate Medical Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES