Central Diabetes insipidus as the First Manifestation of Neurosarcoidosis in a 10-Year-Old Girl

Konrad, Daniel
Gartenmann, Madeleine
Martin, Ernst
Schoenle, Eugen J.

^aDepartment of Endocrinology and Diabetology and ^bDepartment of Magnetic Resonance, University Children's Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland

Hormone Research in Paediatrics 54(2):p 98-100, 2000. | DOI: 10.1159/000053239

Abstract

Central diabetes insipidus with thickening of the pituitary stalk has been demonstrated in adults with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), tuberculosis or sarcoidosis, and in children with LCH. We present a 10.5-year-old girl with central diabetes insipidus. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed thickening of the central part of the pituitary stalk and multiple hyperintense lesions in the frontal white matter on T₂-weighted images. Laboratory findings were normal except for an elevated serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) level. The MRI findings together with the elevated serum ACE level highly suggest the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. We conclude that central diabetes insipidus can be the first clinical manifestation of sarcoidosis in children.