[Latent pituitary adenoma. Autopsy study].

The incidence of latent pituitary microadenoma is poorly known as few studies have as yet been carried out. To address this problem, microadenoma was systematically looked for during 100 random routine post-mortem examinations in subjects with no endocrine disorders. Microadenoma was found in ten cases. Immunocytochemical study demonstrated prolactinoma in 6 cases, somatotropic adenoma in 1, mixed adenoma in 1, and non-functional adenoma in 2. Microadenoma seems more prevalent between fifty and sixty years of age. Outcome is discussed: spontaneous resolution, growth with onset of clinical manifestations, or persistence without changes in size.