[Hypophysitis]

Abstract

Hypophysitis is a rare endocrine disorder with a female predilection affecting mainly young women during late pregnancy and in the postpartum period. The clinical, histopathological and morphological findings and the association of the disease with other autoimmune disorders allow most cases of hypophysitis to be included among the autoimmune diseases. This potentially life-threatening condition should be suspected especially in women of reproductive age who present with hypopituitarism or evidence of pituitary mass-induced headaches and visual symptoms. The natural history of hypophysitis is variable. At the present time, the treatment is only symptomatic but there is no absolute agreement among endocrinologists about the optimal management of this condition. In this review, aetiology, symptoms, clinical classification, diagnosis and treatment of hypophysitis are discussed with a special emphasis on the most recent literature.