Pituitary apoplexy (spontaneous pituitary necrosis)

Pituitary apoplexy or spontaneous pituitary necrosis is an ill-understood clinical syndrome. It may occur as a neurological emergency requiring urgent interference in a patient with a known pituitary dysfunction or it may be responsible for drawing attention to an as yet unrecognized pituitary pathology. It has a bizarre clinical profile and an unpredictable neurological and endocrine course. Patients may die at once or may recover with or without endocrine/neurological deficit. Six cases of pituitary apoplexy with varied clinical presentation are cited.