The primary empty sella in children and its significance

The primary empty sella has been thought to be rare in children; only a few children have been described in the literature. The majority of such cases have been associated with congenital anomalies, optic atrophies, or cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrheas. We now report four cases of the primary empty sella in children. Two of the patients(Case 1 and Case 3) were prepubescent and had primary generalized epilepsy, while Case 2 and Case 4 complained of attacks of vascular headache and peri-orbital pain respectively. None of them showed any clinical evidence of endocrine disturbance. Ophthalmological examination revealed no abnormalities. The association of the primary empty sella with such disorders as primary epilepsy, attacks of vascular headache, and peri-orbital pain were thought to be almost certainly coincidental; the possibility was suggested that the empty sella might be present in children as an anatomical variant or as an acquired process in a certain percentage of them. (author)