Transient hypopituitarism.

Spontaneous recovery of pituitary function in patients with hypopituitarism is rare. We report the case of a 30-year-old man in whom hypopituitarism and sudden onset of bilateral hearing loss developed after a viral infection. No evidence of a mass lesion was detected on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of the pituitary gland. The patient received a 3-week course of treatment with a high dose of glucocorticoids; in a period of 6 weeks, he felt clinically well, and biochemical tests showed spontaneous return of normal anterior pituitary function. We speculate that an immune response triggered by the viral infection initiated an inflammatory process that involved the hypothalamus or pituitary gland and caused the hypopituitarism. The treatment with high-dose glucocorticoids could have prompted the resolution of the hypothalamic-pituitary inflammatory process and facilitated spontaneous recovery of pituitary function. This case shows that hypopituitarism may be transient an outcome that should be considered in patients with idiopathic hypopituitarism.