A Case of Septo-optic Dysplasia Associated with Anterior Pituitary Hormone Abnormalities

Septo-optic dysplasia (SOD) is a rare congenital malformation syndrome that is manifested by a triad of optic nerve hypoplasia, midline brain abnormalities and hypopituitarism. It is known to be associated with homeobox gene HESX1 mutation in some familial cases. We experienced a case of SOD in a 23 year-old male who presented with short stature and delayed puberty. The basal serum levels of testosterone and IGF-1 were low and the prolactin level was high. The combined pituitary stimulation study revealed decreased growth hormone responses. Brain MRI revealed complete agenesis of the corpus callosum, hypoplasia of the anterior pituitary gland and herniation of the third ventricle into the pituitary fossa. On the neurologic and ophthalmologic examinations, there was no definite abnormality except mild optic atrophy on the optical coherence tomography. Genetic analysis using polymerase chain reaction with direct sequencing revealed no HESX1 mutation. (J Korean Endocr Soc 24:33~37, 2009)