Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2008 Mar;37(1):101-22, viii.
doi: 10.1016/j.ecl.2007.10.002.

Acromegaly

Anat Ben-Shlomo  1 , Shlomo Melmed
Affiliations
Review

Acromegaly

Anat Ben-Shlomo et al. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2008 Mar.

Abstract

Acromegaly is caused by growth hormone hypersecretion, mostly from a pituitary adenoma, driving insulin-like growth factor 1 overproduction. Manifestations include skeletal and soft tissue growth and deformities; and cardiac, respiratory, neuromuscular, endocrine, and metabolic complications. Increased morbidity and mortality require early and tight disease control. Surgery is the treatment of choice for microadenomas and well-defined intrasellar macroadenomas. Complete resection of large and invasive macroadenomas rarely is achieved; hence, their low rate of disease remission. Pharmacologic treatments, including long-acting somatostatin analogs, dopamine agonists, and growth hormone receptor antagonists, have assumed more importance in achieving biochemical and symptomatic disease control.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Treatment approach to a patient with acromegaly. (Modified from Melmed S. Medical progress: acromegaly. N Engl J Med 2006;355(24):2558–73; with permission. Copyright © 2006, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Marie P. On two cases of acromegaly: marked hypertrophy of the upper and lower limbs and head. Rev Med. 1886;6:297–333.
    1. Cushing H. Partial hypophysectomy for acromegaly: with remarks on the function of the hypophysis. Ann Surg. 1909;50:1002–17. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Evans H, Long J. The effect of the anterior lobe of the pituitary administered intra-peritoneally upon growth, maturity and oestrus cycle of the rat. Anat Rev. 1921;21:62.
    1. Alexander L, Appleton D, Hall R, et al. Epidemiology of acromegaly in the Newcastle region. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 1980;12(1):71–9. - PubMed
    1. Ritchie CM, Atkinson AB, Kennedy AL, et al. Ascertainment and natural history of treated acromegaly in Northern Ireland. Ulster Med J. 1990;59(1):55–62. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms