Acromegaly is an endocrine disease due to the excessive production of growth hormone (GH), which determines a disproportionate increase in the size of the limbs, joint, causes headaches and alters the proportions of facial growth in acral parts. The term comes from Greek meaning Akron extremity, and megas meaning great. It was first described by Pierre Marie in the late nineteenth century.
Acromegaly is an underdiagnosed disease. It carried an estimated prevalence of 40/1.000.000 and an incidence of about 4 or 5 people per year. It is most frequently diagnosed between forty and sixty years, but can occur in adolescents or the elderly, and although it appears in both sexes, somewhat more frequently in women than in men.
Acromegaly in adults appears due to the excessive secretion of growth hormone. When GH hypersecretion occurs before the end of growth in children and adolescents, acromegalic gigantism occur. In most cases it is caused by the existence of a benign tumour in the pituitary, secreting GH on its own.
It is characterised by an excessive growth of bones of the face, jaw, hands, feet and skull, and also by an enlargement of the viscera and other soft tissues such as the thyroid, liver, kidney and heart.
The table corresponds to coarse factions produced by the growth of the bones of the face: excessive growth of the jaw, prominent chin (prognathism), removal of teeth (dental diathesis), which gives the appearance of typical acromegalic facies.
Pain and difficulty in chewing, excessive growth of nose, ears, lips, tongue (macroglossia), enlarged breasts and face, growth of hands (rings not included) and feet (increasing the number of shoes), and thickened skin excessive sweating, hoarse voice, osteoarticular pain and fatigue (asthenia), women in irregular menstrual cycles and galactorrhea (milk production outside nursing), sexual impotence in men and in both sexes, decreased libido, cardiomegaly, hypertension, atherosclerosis and increased tendency to diabetes.
Often the pain of extreme headaches is also prevalent. You may also have tingling (paresthesia), pain and decreased muscle strength (paresthesia) in one or both hands (which produces a compression of the nerve in the wrist known as carpal tunnel syndrome)
There are three Treatment options:
1) Neurosurgical Treatment, which removes the adenoma:
Groups experienced excess hormonal normalisation in two thirds of patients, especially if the tumours are small (<1cm). However, if the neurosurgeon is less experienced, this dramatically lowers the percentage of those cured.
2) Medical treatment, with injections of somatostatin analogs (1-2 times a month, usually) or with oral medications (cabergoline), although less effective.
3) Only in cases not controlled postoperative radiotherapy can be raised.
Related posts:
- Got a pain, just fold your arms A new study says that our brain is confused by...
- Knee joint pain is amazingly common One in five British men currently have knee pain, 70,000...
- Circulatory Problems of Varicose Veins Varicose veins affect around one in 10 of the UK...
- Botox as an aid to better sex We all know that Botox is primarily used by those...
- Gestational diabetes during pregnancy Gestational diabetes, GDM or Type-4-onset diabetes, is a form of...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
