Common Causes And Risk Factors Of Acromegaly

Acromegaly is a disorder involving the hormones where an individual's pituitary gland makes an excessive amount of growth hormone during their adulthood years. Patients who have acromegaly often present with enlarged feet, enlarged hands, enlarged and coarsened facial features, oily and thickened skin, excessive sweating, excessive body odor, skin tags, muscle weakness, deepened voice, snoring, impaired vision, enlarged tongue, joint pain, enlarged organs, and headaches. An acromegaly diagnosis is made with the help of blood GH and IGF-I measurement tests, growth hormone suppression test, and MRI scans. Treatment for acromegaly aims to decrease a patient's production of growth hormone and reducing the adverse effects of any tumor that may be affecting the pituitary gland and its neighboring tissues. Treatment methods include pituitary tumor excision surgery, medications, and radiation therapy.