Cytomegalovirus adrenalitis in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Seventy-three adrenal glands of 44 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were examined and graded histologically to reveal cytomegaloviral (CMV) adrenalitis. The number of CMV inclusion bodies (IB) were evaluated and compared with 3 methods in 58 adrenal glands of 40 patients: histological sections, immunocytochemistry for early antigens of CMV, and in situ hybridization with biotinylated probes for CMV DNA All 73 adrenal glands contained foci of lymphocytic infiltrate. Forty (55%) showed CMV adrenalitis and necrosis, which were more extensive in the medulla than in the cortex.

Ectopic cushing's syndrome caused by an 8 mm lung carcinoid localized by scintigram with the somatostatin analogin-pentetreotide.

Small tumors producing adrenocorticophic hormone (ACTH) ectopically may be very difficult to locate. We describe a 57-year-old woman who presented with ectopic Cushing's syndrome as diagnosed by bilateral inferior petrosal sinus catheterization with corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) test. Thoracic pentetreotide (a somatostatin analogue) revealed a small "hot spot" in the base of the left lung.

Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid with metastasis to the pituitary gland.

A case of metastatic medullary thyroid carcinoma presenting with anterior pituitary dysfunction is reported. Initial evaluation revealed an intrasellar mass at a time when serum calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen levels were elevated, and histological analysis of resected tissue demonstrated the presence of metastatic medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. Immunohis-tochemical analysis confirmed the presence of calcitonin in the tumor cells.

Absence of somatotrophs, lactotrophs, and thyrotrophs in the pituitary of two dwarfs with hypothyroidism: Deficiency of pituitary transcription factor-1?

Most patients with dwarfism due to growth hormone (GH) deficiency have normal pituitary somatotroph morphology and GH response to GH-releasing hormone (GRH), consistent with decreased GRH synthesis, release, or delivery. Primary pituitary hyposecretion of GH may result from adenohypophysial tissue destruction caused by tumors, such as craniopharyngioma. We report a hitherto undescribed form of primary pituitary dwarfism associated with absence of adenohypophysial GH, prolactin (PRL), and thyrotropin (TSH).

Hypothalamic neurocytoma with vasopressin immunoreactivity: Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural observations.

Hypothalamic tumors of neuronal derivation are rare. We describe the case of a 55-year-old woman with visual disturbances who was found by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to have a sellar and suprasellar tumor. She underwent subtotal surgical resection by a transsphe-noidal approach.

Histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural features of a rat medullary thyroid carcinoma transfected with a corticotropin-releasing hormone cDNA expression vector.

Clonal cell lines producing corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) have been generated by transfection of the W2 rat medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) cell with a CRH-encoding CMV/ SV40 expression vector. Here, we report the morphological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural features of rat tumors derived by implantation of CRH-producing W2CRH-7 cells and compare them with non-CRH-producing W2 MTCs. Both types of tumors grew rapidly and consisted of sheets and nests of pleomorphic cells infiltrating adjacent adipose tissue.