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Case Reports
. 2021 Apr 22:38:394.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2021.38.394.25034. eCollection 2021.

Association of an empty sella and grave´s disease in a patient with acromegaly: a case report

Imen Halloul  1 , Asma Ben Abdelkerim  1 , Ghada Saad  1 , Ahlem Slim  1 , Yosra Hasni  1 , Wafa Ben Othman  1 , Maha Kacem  1 , Molka Chaieb  1 , Amel Maaroufi  1 , Koussay Ach  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Association of an empty sella and grave´s disease in a patient with acromegaly: a case report

Imen Halloul et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Acromegaly is, in most cases, caused by growth hormone secreting pituitary adenomas. Those patients often develop different pathologies of the thyroid gland, however, the occurrence of Grave´s disease is quite a rare situation. We report a case of a 64-year-old female patient who presented with signs of hyperthyroidism and imbalance of her diabetes mellitus. On physical examination, she had facial features of acromegaly. Biochemical testing confirmed the suspicion of acromegaly and Grave´s disease, with an elevated insulin-like growth factor-1 and a suppressed thyroid stimulation hormone (TSH) with positive TSH-receptor antibodies. A pituitary Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was performed, revealing a macro-adenoma and an empty sella. The patient successfully underwent a transsphenoidal surgery and obtained a remission of her hyperthyroidism under anti-thyroid drugs.

Keywords: Acromegaly; case report; empty sella; grave´s disease; hyperthyroidism.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
sagittal spin echo T1-weighted image showing the macro-adenoma
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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