Pituitary Cysts in Childhood Evaluated by MR Imaging
Jun-ichi Takanashia,c,
Hiroko Tadaa,
A. James Barkovichd,
Naokatsu Saekib and
Yoichi Kohnoa
a Department of Pediatrics , Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
b Department of Neurological Surgery , Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
c Department of Pediatrics , Kameda Medical Center, Kamogawa, Japan
d Neuroradiology Section, Department of Radiology , University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
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FIG 1. MR images of patient 1.
Pre- (A) and postcontrast (B) T1-weighted images reveal a homogeneously hypointense (compared with the pons) mass located in the middle portion of the pituitary gland with no enhancement of the lesion; these findings suggest a diagnosis of Rathke cleft cyst (5 x 6 mm). A normal anterior lobe was recognized in the parasagittal sections (not shown).
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FIG 2. MR images of patient 4.
MR images obtained when the patient was 2 years of age reveal a pituitary cyst (10 x 7 mm) without contrast enhancement, low intensity on T1-weighted images (A, B) and high intensity on T2-weighted images (arrowhead, C). Swelling of left optic nerve was recognized on T2-weighted images (arrow, C), suggesting left optic glioma. When the patient was aged 4 years (D, E), the pituitary cyst disappeared completely with no interval change of the presumed low-grade glioma.
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