Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2011) 26 P298

ECE2011 Poster Presentations Pituitary (111 abstracts)

Effects of short (6 months) and long (18 months) term treatment with GH-receptor antagonist pegvisomant (PEG) on rhythm disturbances in acromegaly

Renata Simona Auriemma 1 , Rosario Pivonello 1 , Maria Cristina De Martino 1 , Giuseppe Cudemo 2 , Mariano Galdiero 1 , Ludovica F S Grasso 1 , Chiara Simeoli 1 & Annamaria Colao 1


1Department of Molecular and Clinical Endocrinology and Oncology, University Federico II, Naples, Italy; 2Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University Federico II, Naples, Italy.


Aim: To evaluate the effects of short and long-term treatment with PEG on rhythm disturbances in a cohort of acromegalic patients resistant to long-term high-dose therapy with SA.

Patients and methods: Thirteen patients (4 M, 9 F, aged 44±9.25 years) entered the study. All patients started PEG at initial dose of 10 mg daily, then increased of 5 mg every 6 weeks on the basis of IGF1 levels, until IGF1 normalisation or until the achievement of the maximum dose of 40 mg daily. A standard 24-h ECG registration was performed in all patients at study entry and after 6 and 18 months of PEG to evaluate: mean (HR), maximum (MHR) and minimum (mHR) heart rate, pauses number (P) and duration (PD), supraventricular episodes number (SE) and duration (SED), ectopic beats number (EB) and duration (EBD).

Results: Compared to study entry, a slight but not significant decrease in HR, MHR and mHR was observed after 6-month PEG. Moreover, compared to study entry a significant decrease in HR (P=0.03), MHR (P=0.05) and mHR (P=0.05) was found after 18-month PEG. At study entry, one patient showed 36 P with PD of 2200 ms, 6 SE with SED of 400 ms and 1 EB with EBD of 200 ms; after long-term PEG, no P, no SE and no EB were recorded. Another patient, the youngest man, at study entry showed no P and no SE; after 6-month PEG 21 SE with SED of 920 ms were recorded, whereas after 18-month PEG 4 P with PD of 200 ms and 2 SE with SED of 600 ms were recorded.

Conclusions: In acromegalic patients resistant to long-term high-dose SA therapy long-term treatment with PEG reduces HR, MHR and mHR so that to improve hyperkinetic syndrome.

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