Sellar inflammatory mass with inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease may be associated with different intracranial disorders. An inflammatory sellar mass is very rare but includes a variety of noninfectious causes including lymphocytic hypophysitis, granulomatous inflammation and Wegener's granulomatosis. A 32-year-old man was diagnosed with an inflammatory sellar mass associated with an extensive colonic inflammatory process clinically characteristic of Crohn's disease. The concurrent onset of these inflammatory disorders in distinctly separate sites may reflect their common embryological origin or represent an unusual form of metastatic Crohn's disease. Further studies are needed to determine if less overt or focal sellar inflammatory processes occur in inflammatory bowel disease, particularly in Crohn's disease because their occurrence may be critically relevant for long-term management. ©2010 Pulsus Group Inc. All rights reserved.