Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2013 Jan 25:2013:bcr2012006943.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2012-006943.

A case of symptomatic Rathke's cyst

Vismay Dinesh Naik  1 , Nilay Rajendra Thakore
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case of symptomatic Rathke's cyst

Vismay Dinesh Naik et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

Rathke's cleft cyst is a benign growth found on the pituitary gland in the brain, specifically a fluid-filled cyst in the posterior portion of the anterior pituitary gland. It occurs when the Rathke's pouch does not develop properly, and ranges in size from 2 to 40 mm in diameter. Asymptomatic cysts are common, detected during autopsies of 2-26% of individuals who have died of unrelated causes. Symptomatic cysts are rare and only approximately 150 cases have been reported. Females are twice as likely as males to have a cyst. Symptomatic cysts can trigger visual disturbances, pituitary dysfunction and headaches. Here we present a case of a 40-year-old female patient who presented with complains of visual disturbances, headache and amenorrhoea. On investigations, MRI of brain revealed findings suggestive of Rathke's cleft cyst.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
T2W image, sagittal section of brain.
Figure 2
Figure 2
T2W image, axial section of brain.
Figure 3
Figure 3
FLAIR image, axial section of brain.
Figure 4
Figure 4
T1W, post contrast image.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Right eye perimetry.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Left eye perimetry.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. ‘Rathke's Cleft Cyst’. UCLA. http://neurosurgery.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=215.
    1. Islam O, (28 May 2008). ‘Rathke Cleft Cyst: Overview’. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/343629-overview
    1. Voelker JL, Campbell RL, Muller J. Clinical, radiographic, and pathological features of symptomatic Rathke's cleft cysts. J Neurosurg 1991;74:535–44 - PubMed
    1. Shin JL, Asa SL, Woodhouse LJ, et al. Cystic lesions of the pituitary: clinicopathological features distinguishing craniopharyngioma, Rathke's cleft cyst, and arachnoid cyst. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1999;84:3972–82 - PubMed
    1. Rao GP, Blyth CP, Jeffreys RV. Ophthalmic manifestations of Rathke's cleft cysts. Am J Ophthalmol 1995;119:86–91 - PubMed

Publication types