[Familial panhypopituitarism].

Two Italian brothers showed identical subsequent loss of anterior pituitary function during the first decades of their life, developing panhypopituitarism. The investigations carried out indicate that in this family the etiology is hereditary in nature, being X-chromosomal recessive or autosomal recessive, with the defect located at the level of either the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland.