Diabetes insipidus caused by lymphocytic infundibuloneurohypophysitis

Pathologic examination at autopsy of a 74-year-old man with central diabetes insipidus revealed that he had a chronic lymphocytic inflammation limited to the infundibulum, stalk, and posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. No meningitis, sarcoidosis, or granulomas were detected, though there was evidence of chronic pancreatitis. In addition, neuronal loss with gliosis was observed bilaterally in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei. The unusual localized inflammatory brain lesion was considered to be responsible for the diabetes insipidus.