Abstract
This 55-year-old woman presented with primary adrenal insufficiency that led to multiple endocrine gland dysfunctions. Despite symptoms suggestive of hypothyroidism, she had mildly elevated serum thyroid hormone levels associated with elevated thyrotropin levels, hyperprolactinemia, and mild hypercalcemia. These abnormalities corrected with corticosteroid replacement but could be reproduced, in part, when the corticosteroids were temporarily withdrawn. The findings in this patient suggest that physiologic concentrations of glucocorticoids modulate prolactin secretion and the pituitary-thyroid axis. Adrenal insufficiency should be considered in the differential diagnosis of hyperprolactinemia and hyperthyrotropinemia with or without associated hyperthyroxinemia.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 271-276 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | The American journal of medicine |
| Volume | 79 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1985 |
Funding
From the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, New England Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts. This work was supported in part by National Institutes of Health Grant 5 T33 AM07039-09 (Dr. Stryker) and United States Public Health Service Grant RR0054-7 to our Clinical Research Center. Manuscript accepted July 19, 1984. l Current address and address for reprint requests: Center for Endocrinology, Metabolism & Nutrition, Northwestern University Medical School, 303 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine