Double pituitary adenomas are very rare and present up to 1 % of pituitary adenomas in unselected autopsy series and up to 2 % in large surgical series. We report a case of a 47-year-old man presented slight clinical features of acromegaly with 2 years duration. Endocrine evaluation confirmed active acromegaly and revealed adrenocorticotropin hormone-dependent hypercortisolemia. Preoperative ma...

We have studied the physiological and clinical relevance of measurements of serum total and free IGF-I and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in 57 previously untreated patients with active acromegaly (32 males, 25 females; mean age 47 years) as compared with sex- and age-matched normal healthy controls. Serum total and free IGF-I, but not IGFBP-3, are suitable biochemical parameters for screening...

Obstruction of the upper airway is recognized as a feature of acromegaly. Evans, Hipkin and Murray (1977) found abnormal flow volume curves suggesting upper airway obstruction in 6 out of 20 patients with acromegaly and no other cardiorespiratory disease. Such obstruction has been proposed as a cause of shortness of breath (Siegler, 1952), problems with endotracheal intubation (Kitahata, 1971),...

INTRODUCTION In the patient with acromegaly, pituitary surgery is the therapeutic standard. Despite undergoing surgery, a significant number of patients with acromegaly continue to have uncontrolled growth hormone secretion. These patients require other treatments such as external irradiation and/or drug therapy. CASE PRESENTATION We present the clinical and laboratory responses to six months...

Acromegaly is associated with a two to three-fold increase in mortality related predominantly to cardiovascular disease. The excess mortality is associated most closely with higher levels of growth hormone (GH). Survival in acromegaly may be normalized to a control age-matched rate by controlling GH levels; in particular, GH levels less than 2.5 ng/mL are associated with survival rates equal to...

In the majority of cases, acromegaly is due to GH hypersecretion by a somatotroph pituitary tumor. The etiology of acromegaly is not known, and may be related to GHRH hypersecretion, intn’nsic pituitary defect, or a combination thereof: Recent physiologic data and molecular biology techniques provide insights into the pathophysiology of this condition. Treatment options include surgery, radiati...

Felicia Anumah, MBBS, MWCP, FMCP; Solomon Danbauchi, MBBS, FWCP; Sani Garko, MBBS, FWCP Background: In acromegaly, specific structural and functional changes in the heart appear to contribute to the increased mortality in this disease. This disease is uncommon in Nigeria, West Africa and little has been published about it; also rare is clinically evident heart failure. We are therefore highligh...

BACKGROUND An essential criterion for control of acromegaly is normalization of IGF-I levels. Somatostatin analogues act to suppress IGF-I and GH levels. OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy and safety of 48 weeks titrated dosing of lanreotide Autogel. DESIGN Open-label, multicentre, phase III, 48-week trial. METHODS Patients with active acromegaly (IGF-I levels > 1.3 times upper limit of age...

The effectiveness and short-term safety of recombinant human GH (r-hGH) in acromegaly patients with GH deficiency (GHD) after treatment are not well established. The study includes ten subjects with acromegaly who had GHD treated with r-hGH for 6 months. Control groups consisted of ten age-, gender-, and BMI-matched healthy subjects and ten active acromegaly patients who were treatment naïve. B...