Recurrence of Cushing's disease after long-term remission due to pituitary apoplexy

We encountered a case with long-term remission of Cushing's disease due to pituitary apoplexy. The apoplexy of pituitary adenoma secreting adrenocorticotropin hormone was diagnosed by successive and timely magnetic resonance imaging when the symptoms of the patient were not yet severe and anterior pituitary dysfunction was only a transient reduction of growth hormone secretion. Seven years after the first episode of pituitary apoplexy, hypercorticism recurred, and pituitary magnetic resonance imaging showed a regrowth of the pituitary adenoma. A spontaneous remission of Cushing's disease without significant visual, neurologic or hormonal defects seems to be a much more common phenomenon than has been previously suggested. Cases with relapse after spontaneous remission of Cushing's disease are rare and the duration of remission in previous reports was within 5 years. We observed such a patient with a 7 year-remission caused by pituitary apoplexy. We consider that a careful long-term follow-up is required for patients with Cushing's disease whose remission was due to pituitary apoplexy.