A case of autoimmune hypophysitis associated with asymptomatic primary biliary cirrhosis

Abstract

We report a 61-year old male patient with panhypopituitarism complicated with asymptomatic primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated high intensity of the anterior pituitary gland. There was no mass lesion or enlargement of the pituitary gland or the stalk. Immunoblot analysis of the patient's sera with rat pituitary antigens revealed a band with a molecular size of 22 kD. Anti-M2 mitochondrial antibody has been consistently positive for five years. Liver biopsy revealed portal hepatitis with periportal infiltration of the inflammatory cells. This is the first case report of autoimmune hypophysitis complicated with asymptomatic PBC.