Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Relapsing Whipple's disease presenting with hypopituitarism.

M Brändle1, P Ammann, G A Spinas

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Zürich, Switzerland. ndobraem@usz.unizh.ch

Clinical Endocrinology
|August 6, 1999
PubMed
Summary

Whipple's disease can affect the brain, causing seizures and hypopituitarism. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of cerebrospinal fluid is crucial for diagnosing this rare infection.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A data-driven approach to determine the minimum number of spot samples for estimating methane and carbon dioxide emissions from Austrian dairy cows on commercial farms using GreenFeed.

Journal of dairy science·2026
Same author

dVP_FAM-development and evaluation of a transsectoral digital care platform for individuals with familial cancer risks: study protocol for a multi-centre, cluster-randomised, mixed-methods study.

Trials·2025
Same author

Incidence of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in different membrane oxygenators: pilot in vitro experiments in commercially available coated membranes.

Journal of artificial organs : the official journal of the Japanese Society for Artificial Organs·2025
Same author

Predictive preoperative clinical score for patients with liver-only oligometastatic colorectal cancer.

ESMO open·2022
Same author

Mid-Term Outcomes of a Hybrid Approach Involving Open Surgery Plus TEVAR of the Descending Aorta in the Treatment of Complex Type A Dissection.

The Thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon·2022
Same author

Effects of temporal fine structure preservation on spatial hearing in bilateral cochlear implant users.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·2021

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Whipple's disease is a rare systemic bacterial infection caused by Tropheryma whippelii.
  • Neurological involvement can manifest years after initial infection, presenting with diverse symptoms.

Observation:

  • A 44-year-old male with a history of Whipple's disease presented with seizures and hypopituitarism.
  • Brain MRI revealed a hypothalamic lesion, and hormonal assays confirmed hypopituitarism.
  • Cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Tropheryma whippelii.

Findings:

  • The patient was diagnosed with Whipple encephalitis affecting the hypothalamus.
  • PCR for Tropheryma whippelii in cerebrospinal fluid confirmed the diagnosis, especially valuable in atypical cases.

Related Experiment Videos

  • This case highlights the utility of PCR in diagnosing Whipple's disease when histological confirmation is challenging.

    • Implications:

    • Whipple's disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of hypopituitarism, particularly in patients with unexplained neurological symptoms.
    • Early and accurate diagnosis through molecular methods like PCR is vital for timely treatment and management of neurological complications.
    • This case underscores the importance of recognizing the potential for late-onset neurological and endocrine manifestations of Whipple's disease.