Spontaneous remission of acromegaly after pituitary apoplexy following head trauma.

A 34-year-old man with acromegaly was observed, and the clinical course and various endocrinological deficiencies occurring before, during and after the development of pituitary apoplexy were evaluated. Following the attack, the patient experienced acute reductions in growth hormone (GH) and other pituitary hormones, adrenohypophyseal insufficiency and transient diabetes insipidus which appeared subsequent to glucocorticoid therapy. The level of growth hormone in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was measured synchronously, and the respective regressions of GH levels in serum and CSF were observed. The results demonstrated the utility of measuring hormonal levels in CSF in the clinical evaluation of pituitary apoplexy in a patient with a functioning pituitary tumor.