A hormonal disorder that develops when your pituitary gland (the pituitary gland is a small structure that’s found at the base of the skull) produces too much growth hormone during adulthood, it can be mistaken for gigantism.
It usually affects middle age adults though can affect any age.
Diagnosis test
Medical history
Physical examination – This allows your doctor to look for physical symptoms, like an enlarged tongue or prominent facial bones.
Blood tests- Acromegaly involve high blood levels of growth hormone and insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Your doctor might also check other hormones, like cortisol and thyroid hormone, which may be low.
Imaging tests – If ones doctor thinks a pituitary adenoma is causing your symptoms, they may order an MRI or CT scan. This test will show the size and location of the tumor.
Healthline
Gigantism and Acromegaly occur when the pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone.
Gigantism and acromegaly are similar, but they also have notable differences.
Gigantism occurs in children. The overproduction of growth hormone occurs during puberty, when a child is still naturally growing, growth is rapid.
Acromegaly affects middle-aged adults. It’s caused by an overproduction of growth hormone, even after puberty. This causes atypical growth in adulthood, it is rare and progresses slowly.
This condition can be divided into those caused by local mass effects of an intracranial tumor and those caused by excess of GH/insulin-like growth factor 1.
Conditions below should be investigated:
Prognathism (refers to the lower jaw sticking out more than usual) is caused by excess GH/insulin-like growth factor 1 along with:
Increased incidence of colonic polyps and adenocarcinoma (cancer of a certain gland) of the colon
Increased incidence of congestive heart failure, which may be due to uncontrolled hypertension or to an intrinsic form of cardiomyopathy attributable to excess GH/insulin-like growth factor 1
Increased incidence of glucose intolerance or frank diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease
Rarely, a tumour somewhere else in the body, these tumours typically secrete hormones that trigger the pituitary gland to make growth hormones. Sometimes, these tumours might produce growth hormone themselves.
This includes tumours in the:
Lungs
Pancreas
Hypothalamus
Adrenal glands
Chest or abdomen
Healthline
Source: Pituitary Society
Source: Socratic
Symptoms
Bones increase in size, including those of your hands (rings don’t fit one’s fingers), feet and face?
Protruding lower jaw and brow, an enlarged nose, thickened lips, and wider spacing between your teeth?
Joint pain and stiffness?
Joint pain in hands and feet and/or pain in joints of Fingers and toes?
Sore bone pain?
Sweating?
Oily thickened, skin?
Skin tags?
General discomfort (muscle weakness), uneasiness or ill feeling (malaise) and/or fatigue (tiredness)?
Hypopituitarism – Deficiency of one or more of the pituitary hormones:
Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH): This hormone circulates to the thyroid gland in the
neck, stimulating it to make and release thyroid hormones, Thyroxine and Tri-iodothyronine.
Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH): This hormone stimulates the adrenal glands
(small endocrine glands situated on the top of your kidneys) to produce cortisol. This is a
steroid hormone that is essential for everyday activities and health. Lack of cortisol causes
severe fatigue and lack of appetite with weight loss.
Growth hormone (GH): This has effects on the various tissue of the body. In children, it is
essential to reach normal growth. In adults, it appears to maintain normal energy levels and
to keep muscles and bones strong and healthy.
Gonadotrophins – Follicular Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinising Hormone
(LH): These hormones regulate and control the male and female hormones, menstrual
cycles, ovulation, sperm production and fertility.
Prolactin (PL): This hormone stimulates the breasts and regulates milk production. It is
normally produced in very high levels during pregnancy and breast- feeding. This hormone
can be responsible for irregular or absent menstrual periods and lack of libido.
Antidiuretic hormone (ADH): This hormone circulates to the kidneys where it regulates the
amount of urine produced. Too little ADH causes continual thirst and copious output of urine
day and night.
Laband syndrome (large facial and limb features with swollen gums)
Oculo-dento-digital dysplasia (overgrowth of lower jaw, excessive thickening of bone tissue in the skull, an abnormally wide collarbone, and calcium deposits in the lobes of the ear)
Munchmeyer’s disease (fibrodysplasia ossificans) or ‘Stone man syndrome’ – a spontaneous or genetic condition where ones connective tissue turns in to bone tissue.
Initially one has dental deformation , then stiff joints , movement problems and then breathing problems due to poor movement of the rib cage.
Any injury can cause muscles to turn to bone hence it is a debilitating and restrictive condition.
Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice
Detailed Information
Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Acromegaly in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).
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