Patients with acromegaly produce too much growth hormone, which causes their bones, organs and tissues to grow disproportionately.
Acromegaly is a disease that results from excessive production of growth hormone after growth plates close.
In most cases, the initial symptom is growth of the hands and feet, and growth of the forehead, jaw and nose may also occur.
This condition is estimated to affect 50 to 70 people per million. However, the actual number of people affected may be higher, as symptoms develop slowly and therefore may not be recognized.
Acromegaly occurs when the pituitary glanda small hormonal structure in the brain, produces too much growth hormone for a long period of time. This hormone normally regulates the body’s physical growth, including the growth of bones and muscles.
In most cases, this excessive production of growth hormone results from a non-cancerous tumor in the pituitary gland. However, in rarer cases, the disease can be triggered by tumors in other locations in the brain or in other parts of the body, such as the lungs or pancreas.
These tumors themselves produce the hormone growth hormone or produce another substance, known as growth hormone-releasing hormone, which in turn causes the pituitary gland to produce more growth hormone.
Some genetic diseases can cause acromegaly. For example, multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 and Carney complex are two rare diseases that increase the risk of developing tumors in the hormone-producing glands.
Facial features of a person with acromegaly: pronounced cheek bones, protrusion of the frontal bone, widening of the jaw, and prominent facial lines
Symptoms and treatments
Symptoms of acromegaly usually begin after pubertymost often between 40 and 50 years of age. The disease causes a person’s bones to increase in size, especially in the hands, face and feet.
Visible features of this condition on the face include the nose, tongue or jaw, and lips. disproportionately large. In other parts of the body, patients may develop thicker hair and skinexperience joint pain and sweat more than normal.
They may also have headaches, vision loss and irregular periods in women who have menstruation. Other organs, such as the heart, may also increase in size.
If left untreated, acromegaly can cause a series of problems health issues, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and heart disease. You can also reduce life expectancy of a person in about 10 years.
AND often confused with gigantism, another rare disease that causes excessive growth as a result of high levels of growth hormone production. However, unlike acromegaly, gigantism begins during childhood.
They exist multiple treatment options for acromegaly, depending on the size and location of the tumor that is causing the disease, the severity of the patient’s symptoms, their age and their general health.
A surgery and radiotherapy can be used to remove or shrink the tumor, while medications can help reduce levels of growth hormone circulating in the body or stop the hormone from exerting its effects on tissues.
In some cases, acromegaly is curable. In patients with a small pituitary tumor that can be removed by surgery, the disease can be cured 85% of the time.
In patients with large but removable tumors, the disease can be cured between 40% and 50% of the time. Unlike surgery, medications cannot cure the disease, but they can help control patients’ symptoms.
