Endocrine Abstracts

ACROSTUDY is an international observational study to evaluate efficacy and safety of long-term treatment with pegvisomant (PEGA) in acromegaly. ACROSTUDY Italy was started in 2007 and we report data from the first 185 patients (93M, 92F, mean age, range, 49.9 y; 17–83.8 y) treated with PEGA (mean duration, range, 3.2 y, 0.1–8.5 y), from 24 centers, until 01/2010. Before and during PEGA, IGF1, GH-Ab, liver enzymes, metabolic parameters and pituitary MRI were assessed....

Introduction: Acromegaly is a rare disease caused by chronic exposure to excessive levels of GH, usually related to the presence of a pituitary adenoma, and associated to somatic and visceral hypertrophy, metabolic alterations, respiratory and cardiovascular complications, and increased risk of neoplasias.Materials and methods: The prevalence of manifestations, complications and associated illness was evaluated in 137 acromegalic subjects (52 M, 85 F; ag...

ITT is the test of reference for the diagnosis of adult GH deficiency (GHD), but also GHRH in combination with arginine (ARG) or GH secretagogues (GHS) are considered equally reliable tests. Testing with GHS alone is, anyway, a potent stimulus exploring the integrity of hypothalamic pathways controlling somatotropic function.We therefore aimed to clarify the diagnostic reliability of testing with ghrelin, the natural GHS.We studied...

High risk of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus is frequently observed in acromegalic patients. Some studies have reported a direct correlation between circulating GH levels and the degree of glucose intolerance. Microalbuminuria clusters with the metabolic syndrome and both conditions predict cardiovascular disease mortality. The reported relationships of microalbuminuria with the individual components of the metabolic syndrome are variable. Aim of this prelimin...

GH hypersection results in biventricular concentric hypertrophy and a progressive contractile impairment whereas cardiac hypotrophy and impaired diastolic filling and left ventricular function have been reported in GH deficiency (GHD). No information on cardiac performances and structure are available about those acromegalic patients in whom successful treatment made their GH and IGF-I secretion similar to those in GHD patients. In order to study the functional and structural ...