Acromegaly

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Endocrine glands

Somatotroph adenoma; Growth hormone excess

• Enlarged hands
• Enlarged feet
• Widened fingers or toes due to skin overgrowth with swelling, redness, and pain
• Enlarged jaw (prognathism) and tongue
• Enlarged facial bones
• Thickening of the skin, skin tags
• Enlarged sebaceous glands
• Hoarseness
• Headache
• Easy fatigue
• Excessive sweating
• Decreased muscle strength (weakness)
• Limited joint mobility
• Joint pain
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Widely spaced teeth
• Swelling of the bony areas around a joint

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

• Weight gain (unintentional)
• Hair, excessive on females

• The level of growth hormone is high.
• The level of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1) is high.
• A spine X-ray shows abnormal bone growth.
• A cranial MRI or cranial CT scan may show a pituitary tumor.
• An echocardiogram  may show a leaky mitral valve  or a leaky aortic valve.

This disease may also alter the results of the following tests:

• Fasting plasma glucose (high)
• Glucose tolerance test (too high at 2 hours)
• Creatinine
• Creatinine - urine
• 17-ketosteroids
• 17-hydroxycorticosteroids

Review Date: 05/12/2006
Reviewed By: Robert Hurd, MD, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.