Acromegaly is a disorder caused by excessive production of growth hormone by the pituitary gland, usually due to a benign tumor, resulting in enlarged extremities, facial features, and organs. Symptoms include headaches, vision loss, and joint pain. It is detected through blood tests showing high growth hormone levels and imaging finding a pituitary tumor. Treatment options include surgery to remove the tumor, radiation therapy, and medication injections to shrink tumors and reduce hormone levels. Without treatment, acromegaly can be life threatening due to organ enlargement and associated conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease.
Acromegaly is a disorder caused by excessive production of growth hormone by the pituitary gland, usually due to a benign tumor, resulting in enlarged extremities, facial features, and organs. Symptoms include headaches, vision loss, and joint pain. It is detected through blood tests showing high growth hormone levels and imaging finding a pituitary tumor. Treatment options include surgery to remove the tumor, radiation therapy, and medication injections to shrink tumors and reduce hormone levels. Without treatment, acromegaly can be life threatening due to organ enlargement and associated conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease.
Acromegaly is a disorder caused by excessive production of growth hormone by the pituitary gland, usually due to a benign tumor, resulting in enlarged extremities, facial features, and organs. Symptoms include headaches, vision loss, and joint pain. It is detected through blood tests showing high growth hormone levels and imaging finding a pituitary tumor. Treatment options include surgery to remove the tumor, radiation therapy, and medication injections to shrink tumors and reduce hormone levels. Without treatment, acromegaly can be life threatening due to organ enlargement and associated conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease.
Acromegaly is a disorder caused by excessive production of growth hormone by the pituitary gland, usually due to a benign tumor, resulting in enlarged extremities, facial features, and organs. Symptoms include headaches, vision loss, and joint pain. It is detected through blood tests showing high growth hormone levels and imaging finding a pituitary tumor. Treatment options include surgery to remove the tumor, radiation therapy, and medication injections to shrink tumors and reduce hormone levels. Without treatment, acromegaly can be life threatening due to organ enlargement and associated conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease.
What is Acromegaly? - Caused by the overproduction of growth hormone made by the pituitary gland - Causes abnormally large hands feet face
Signs and Symptoms:
-
Headaches and partial loss of vision
Enlarged hands and feet Skin tags Skin changes, such as the skin becoming more oily and thicker.
Detecting Acromegaly - Blood tests can determine if the GH (growth hormone) is too high. - Imaging can locate a pituitary tumor, pituitary tumors make the glands create too much of the growth hormone.
Tanya Angus -
Sex: Female Height: 611 Weight: 392.4 lbs. Diagnosed with Acromegaly at the age of 21
Recent Medical Signs and Symptoms
- Tanyas sister noticed a significant change in the size of her hands - Tanya was beginning to gain weight - Ended up going to see a pediatrician
Pathophysiology -
Tanyas tissues began to grow- her body
parts became larger than normal.
The phalanges, metacarpals, tarsals, and
many other long bones were affected.
Her skin became oily, she had enlarged lips,
nose and tongue, joint aches, excessive sweating, and a deepened voice.
This all occurs due to large amounts of
growth hormone being produced due to a pituitary tumor.
Medical Tests - Tanya had a blood test done and an X-ray. She also went to the eye doctor. - Her eye doctor noticed the vision in her right eye was being affected. - Tanya Angus tested for an above normal GH level and a pituitary tumor was found.
Pituitary Tumors are
found towards the back of the skull, right by the brain.
Treatments - Surgery and Radiation can both be used to remove the pituitary tumor. - Tanyas tumor was located on her carotid artery, and was inoperable. - Somatostatin analog (Octreotide, Lanreotide) is an injection you can receive, which can shrink the tumors 3050%. - Keep growing larger if tumor is not removed, you can also develop high blood pressure and heart disease.
Nutritional Supplements To help regain and keep the skeletons health: - Avoid eating unhealthy foods - Exercise regularly - Get regular blood tests - Get regular eye checkups.
- After 3 surgeries and radiation,
Tanya was still not cured. - One surgery caused a stroke and she lost most hearing. - Organs continued to grow as well. - Passed away at the age of 34 due to heart failure caused by extreme pressure. - Known to have worst case of acromegaly.
Prognosis Through the next sixth months after surgery: - Damage can affect the surrounding normal pituitary tissue, which requires lifelong use of pituitary hormone replacement. - Radiation therapy is usually reserved for people who have some tumor remaining after surgery and do not respond to medications. Throughout life: - Check-ups a few times a year to check progress - Lives are shortened because the tumor and the treatment destroys vital brain tissue.
Works Cited
Acromegaly. (2013). Retrieved from http://acromegaly.org/en/
Acromegaly. (2014, December 15). Retrieved from http://www.medindia. net/patients/patientinfo/acromegaly.htm Acromegaly and somavert (pegvisomant) injection . (2012). Retrieved from https://www.optumrx.com/vgnlive/CHP/Assets/PDF/Somavert Handout.pdf Gigantism. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://pituitary.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=83 National endocrine and metabolic diseases information service (nemdis). (2012, April 6th). Retrieved from http://endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/acro/acro.aspx Swaminathan, N. (2008, August 14). What causes gigantism?. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-causes-gigantism-sandy-allen/ Tanya Angus. (2013, January 15th). Retrieved from http://www.tanyaangus.com/
