Imagerie par résonance magnétique du diabète insipide

Magnetic resonance imaging is a revolutionary advance in diagnostic imaging of the diabetes insipidus. The posterior lobe of the pituitary gland displays a characteristic bright signal on the T1-weighted images reflecting the normal vasopressin storage. In central diabetes insipidus, the bright signal of the posterior gland is absent. Morphological changes, thickening or atrophy of the pituitary stalk can be observed. The most frequent causes of central diabetes insipidus include granulomatous inflammations such as sarcoidosis, infundibulo-neurohypophysitis and various neoplastic conditions such as germinomas, Langherans cell histiocytosis, metastasis.