what's Acromegaly
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Acromegaly
Acromegaly is a syndrome where there is an excessive production of Growth hormone by a tumor in the anterior pituitary gland with is called adrenal adenoma. It can also be cused by tumor present in pancreas,lungs and adrenal glands wich are responsible to produce GHRH(Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone)
what happens in Acromegaly!
- soft tissue swelling visibly resulting in enlargement of the hands, feet, nose, lips and ears, and a general thickening of the skin.
- Soft tissue swelling of internal organs, notably the heart with attendant weakening of its muscularity, and the kidneys, also thevocal cords resulting in a characteristic thick, deep voice and slowing of speech
- Generalized expansion of the skull at the fontanelle
- Pronounced brow protrusion, often with ocular distension
- enlargement of the tongue and teeth gapping
- numbness of the fingers due to compression of the medien nerve
some of the prominent featurs
soft tissue swells
enlargement of hands,feet,nose etc
enlargement of tongue and teeth gaping
Treatment
The goals of treatment are to reduce GH production to normal levels, to relieve the pressure that the growing pituitary tumor exerts on the surrounding brain areas, to preserve normal pituitary function, and to reverse or ameliorate the symptoms of acromegaly. Currently, treatment options include surgical removal of the tumor, drug therapy , and radiation therapy of the pituitary.
a video on acromegaly
What is Acromegaly?
diagnosis
If acromegaly is suspected, medical imaging and medical laboratory investigations are generally used together to confirm or rule out the presence of this condition.