McCune-Albright syndrome revealed by hyperthyroidism at advanced age

Abstract

We report a case of a 38-year-old woman admitted to our service for diagnosis of osteolytic lesions. She suffered from back, lumbar and costal pain at the time a hyperthyroidism, related to multinodular goiter, was diagnosed. The pain remained despite the cure of hyperthyroidism. Cutaneous examination revealed café au lait skin spots. Analysis of the phosphocalcic metabolism allowed the diagnosis of phosphate diabetes. X-ray showed lytic lesions involving the ribs with thinning of the cortex and vertebral fractures of the dorsal spine. The computed tomography revealed lytic lesions with a typical "ground glass" appearance involving the spine, ribs, sternum, iliac bones and sacrum. The presence of this clinical triad allowed the diagnosis of McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS). The treatment consisted in vitamin D supplementation, and high doses of both oral phosphate and calcitriol to treat the phosphate diabetes as well as cycles of intravenous pamidronate administration to relieve bone pain. We report an uncommon case of the diagnosis of MAS at an advanced age following hyperthyroidism. We believe that the disease was revealed by an increase in bone turnover due to hyperthyroidism.