2. WHAT IS
ACROMEGALY?
Greek Roots
ACRO: Extremity
MEGAL: Enlargement
To know what acromegaly is you must first
have an understanding of the Endocrine
System because Acromegaly is an
endocrine disorder. As you see from the
roots of this word is has to do with GH
(Growth Hormone) which is produce by
the pituitary gland.
3. EPIDEMIOLOGY
• Even though this seems like a wide world occurrence, it isn’t. It is 40-70 cases per
million population. It is a very rare and somewhat complex disease.The usually
occurrence within a lifespan is the third decade of life.The signs and symptoms show
up around 5-15 years of age. It could complicate and cause early death if not handled
correctly.It usually doesn’t complicate the latter years of life.
4. CAUSES OF ARCOMEGALY
• Acromegaly is the hyper-production of GH by pituitary gland.There are sevaral
common causes of Acromegaly but over 95% of all cases are cause by a pituitary
ardenoma.This is a tumor on the pituitary gland. Another cause of this disease is
caused by something outside of the pituitary gland but it is very rare.
5. SIGN & SYMPTOMS
• Tall stature
• Mild to moderate obesity (common)
• Macrocephaly (may precede linear growth)
• Headaches
• Visual changes
• Hypopituitarism
• Soft tissue hypertrophy
• Exaggerated growth of the hands and feet, with thick
fingers and toes
• Coarse facial features
Frontal bossing
Prognathism
Hyperhidrosis
Osteoarthritis (a late feature of IGF-I excess)
Peripheral neuropathies (eg, carpel tunnel syndrome)
Cardiovascular disease
Benign tumors
Endocrinopathies
6. SIGNS & SYMPTOMS (CONT’D)
Doughy-feeling skin over the face and extremities
Thick and hard nails
Deepening of creases on the forehead and nasolabial folds
Noticeably large pores
Thick and edematous eyelids
Enlargement of the lower lip and nose (the nose takes on a
triangular configuration)
Wide spacing of the teeth and prognathism
Hyperpigmentation (40% of patients)
Acanthosis nigricans (a small percentage of patients)
Excessive eccrine and apocrine sweating
Breast tissue becoming atrophic; galactorrhea
High blood pressure
Mitral valvular regurgitation
Mild hirsutism (in women)
7. DIAGNOSES & TREATMENTS
Diagnoses
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): To
image pituitary adenomas
Computed tomography (CT) scanning:To
evaluate the patient for pancreatic, adrenal,
and ovarian tumors secreting GH/GHRH;
use chest CT scans to evaluate for
bronchogenic carcinoma secreting
GH/GHRH
Radiography:To demonstrate skeletal
manifestations of GH/IGF-I excess
Treatments
There is no single treatment.Treatment
revolves around reducing the negative
effects as well as changing the excess of the
GH.
One way may be transsphenoidal surgery.
This is where the surgery goes through your
nose to remove the tumor sometimes the
surgeon may not be able to get it all and this
could cause constant elevated levels of GH
