Report of 2 cases of diabetes insipidus and pituitary stalk thickening

Abstract

To analyze the clinical data of 2 patients with diabetes insipidus (DI) who had pituitary stalk thickening (PST) and review the literature. The 2 patients were a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl who presented with complaints of thirst and polyuria. Both pituitary MRIs suggested PST. The boy had central diabetes insipidus (CDI), while the girl had both CDI and anterior pituitary dysfunction (APD). Langerhans’ cell histiocytosis (LCH) and germinoma were diagnosed pathologically by pituitary stalk biopsy. PST is one of the most common clinical imaging manifestation in CDI patients suggesting inflammatory or neoplastic infiltration. The differential diagnosis of PST-related diseases is important in clinical practice with pituitary biopsy being the gold standard for diagnosis.

Keywords

• diabetes insipidus
• pituitary stalk thickening
• langerhans’ cell histiocytosis