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A thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma as a cause of thyrotoxic periodic paralysis

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Abstract

We describe a patient with thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) caused by a thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma. The diagnosis TPP was based on the combination of episodes of reversible hypokalaemic paralysis, hyperthyroidism and electrophysiological findings. A thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma was diagnosed on the basis of endocrinological function tests and MRI of the pituitary gland. Before transsphenoidal resection of the adenoma, treatment with octreotide restored euthyroidism both clinically and biochemically. Immunocytochemistry of the pituitary adenoma was positive for TSH exclusively. Incubation with octreotide or quinagolide induced decreased TSH and α-subunit production by the cultured adenoma cells, in agreement with the preoperative in vivo data. This paper is the first to describe in vivo and in vitro characteristics of a thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma in a patient presenting with periodic paralysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academical Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam F5-171, PO Box 22660, 1100 DO, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    A. M. W. Alings, Eric Fliers M.D. & W. M. Wiersinga

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    W. W. de Herder & L. J. Hofland

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Deventer Ziekenhuizen, Deventer, The Netherlands

    H. E. Sluiter

  4. Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    T. P. Links

  5. Department of Neurology, University Hospital Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    J. H. van der Hoeven

Authors
  1. A. M. W. Alings
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  2. Eric Fliers M.D.
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  3. W. W. de Herder
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  4. L. J. Hofland
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  5. H. E. Sluiter
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  6. T. P. Links
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  7. J. H. van der Hoeven
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  8. W. M. Wiersinga
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Alings, A.M.W., Fliers, E., de Herder, W.W. et al. A thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma as a cause of thyrotoxic periodic paralysis. J Endocrinol Invest 21, 703–706 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03350802

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03350802

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