Acromegaly
The Master's mistake
...
Causes
Symptoms
There are some signs and symptoms which could tell us that, it might be Acromegaly that we are looking at. Some of the symptoms are as follows:
Body odor
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Decreased muscle strength (weakness)
Easily tired
Excessive height (when excess growth hormone production begins in childhood)
Excessive sweating
Headache
Hoarseness
Joint pain
Large bones of the face
Large feet
Large hands
Large glands in the skin (sebaceous glands)
Large jaw (prognathism) and tongue
Limited joint movement
Sleep apnea
Swelling of the bony areas around a joint
Thickening of the skin, skin tags
Widely spaced teeth
Widened fingers or toes due to too much skin growth, with swelling, redness, and pain
Other symptoms that may occur with this disease :
Excess hair growth in females
Weight gain (unintentional)
Teeth
Widely spaced teeth is one of acromegaly's symptoms.
Hands
Acromegaly could cause your hands to become bigger in size and look 'spade-like'
Feet
Acromegaly could cause your legs to become bigger in size and look 'spade-like' too.
Signs and tests
There are some signs and tests too which could help us know if the condition is Acromegaly. Some of such signs and tests are as follows:
High growth hormone level
High insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) level
Spine x-ray shows abnormal bone growth
Pituitary MRI may show a pituitary tumor
Echocardiogram may show an enlarged heart, leaky mitral valve, or leaky aortic valve
This disease may also change the results of the following tests:
Fasting plasma glucose
Glucose tolerance test
Treatment
After we know what it is Acromegaly we need to treat it. Here some ways this would be possible -
Surgery: A Pituitary tumor can be removed through surgery and would normally fix the problem.
Radiation: People who don't respond to the surgery are put under radiation of the pituitary gland. Still, this treatment reduces growth hormone levels very slowly.
Medication: These medications can be taken before the surgery, after it, or at times when the surgery is not working. Octreotide (Sandostatin) or bromocriptine (Parlodel) may control growth hormone release in some people. Pegvisomant (Somavert) directly blocks the effects of growth hormone, and has been shown to improve symptoms of Acromegaly.
Surgery
Acromegaly can be cured by performing a surgery on the pituitary gland to remove a tumor
Radiation
Radiation treatment, performed on patients who don't respond to the surgery, on the pituitary gland may cure Acromegaly.
Medications
Certain medicines are used in the process; some before the surgery or radiation, some after it, and some when other treatments don't work. Some medicines used are: Octreotide (Sandostatin) or bromocriptine (Parlodel) may control growth hormone release in some people. Pegvisomant (Somavert) directly blocks the effects of growth hormone, and has been shown to improve symptoms of Acromegaly.
Now that we know what Acromegaly is what it can do to us we should spread awareness and help people with this problem.