Walsh & Hoyt: Sarcoidosis: Endocrine Manifestations

A variety of endocrine disorders can develop in patients with sarcoidosis. As already discussed, disturbed calcium metabolism can lead to hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, and decreased fecal excretion of calcium. Sarcoidosis that affects the hypothalamus can produce clinical manifestations of hypothalamic and pituitary dysfunction, including partial or panhypopituitarism, diabetes insipidus, the Chiari-Frommel syndrome, and the Frolich syndrome. Hypopituitarism also can result from infiltration of the pituitary gland itself. In addition, sarcoidosis can affect the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, and pancreas. In many cases, infiltration of these glands by sarcoid granulomas is an incidental finding detected at autopsy; however, sarcoidosis of specific organs may produce hypothyroidism, hypoparathyroidism, adrenal insufficiency or frank Addison disease, or pancreatitis.