Acromegaly/Gigantism
You had probably come across the word “Giant” or watched many fictional movies with a lot of giants. There is a rare condition that causes people to overgrow which possesses serious health implication known as acromegaly.
Acromegaly is a condition in which an individual has high levels of Growth Hormone in the body that causes abnormal growth development. When this happens in children before puberty, it is known as gigantism whereas in adults it is known as acromegaly but these two are all related to excess growth hormone in the body.
Growth hormone is a hormone released by the pituitary gland that stimulates the liver to produce Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) which causes bones and tissues to grow in an individual. (IGF-1) also affects glucose metabolism and as such high levels of it may lead to type-2 diabetes, and other heart related problems.
Normally, after the epiphyses of the bones have fused, growth hormone does not stimulate bone growth again to increase height but in this condition, it does happen to result in larger hands, jaws, forehead and feet in adults.
The lips, nose and other organs of the body in people with acromegaly also increase in size which results in serious health implications. Acromegaly is rare and the condition may progress slowly making it hard for the condition to be diagnosed.
Causes of acromegaly
1.Pituitary tumours: The pituitary gland as already state is known release several hormones that stimulate a biological function in the body of which growth hormone is part. Acromegaly is mostly caused by benign tumour (adenoma) of the pituitary gland which results in the release of excess growth hormone in the body.
This tumour produces excess growth hormone which stimulates the liver to make more Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) that causes acromegaly.
- Non-Pituitary tumours: In some cases, tumours in other parts of the body aside the pituitary gland may cause acromegaly by secreting excess growth hormone in the body. Also, in some situations, the tumours produce growth-hormone-releasing hormone which mimic the action of growth hormone to cause the liver to make more (IGF-1).
Symptoms of Acromegaly
- Feet and hands enlargement
- Thicken, oily and coarse skin results
- Skin tags
- Pain and fatigue at the joints
- Headaches and vision problem
- Excessive sweating
- Low libido and erectile dysfunction
- Deepened voice
- Menstrual problems
The complications of this situation usually results in osteoarthritis, hypertension, diabetes type-2, heart problems, goiter, sleep apnea, spinal cord problems and others.
Treatment
Early diagnosis and management with drugs is an important step and surgery or irradiation is also to reduce or remove the size of tumuor. This is geared towards helping to put control the release of the growth hormone.
