Autoimmune oophoritis

A 43-year-old para 3 woman presented with a six-year history of progressive oligomenorrhea and hypomenorrhea. A total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was performed for the suspicion of ovarian cysts. On histologic examination, the ovaries contained lymphocytic and plasma cell infiltrates in relation to the theca interna of growing follicles, to the corpora lutea and to the endocrine hilar cells. The infiltrates increased in density with the follicular maturation and culminated against the corpora lutea. The plasma cell population was polyclonal. No antibodies to ovarian tissue components could be demonstrated in the patient's serum by means of immunohistochemistry; but antibodies to the zona glomerulosa of adrenal cortex were detected by serologic means. Although a rare disease, autoimmune oophoritis must be recognized histologically because it is a cause of ovarian failure and because it indicates that the patient is at risk of developing associated Addison's disease.