Chevy Chase, MD, February 18, 2004 People who suffer from acromegaly, a condition caused when a tumor of the pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone, require stringent control of growth hormone levels in blood and close attention to its effects on the body in order to avoid consequent problems of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension, according to new research being published this month in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). The new findings advance doctors' understanding of the relationship between growth hormone levels achieved after treatment of people with acromegaly and their increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

Basal growth hormone (GH) levels of less than 2.5 g/liter and glucose-suppressed GH levels of less than one g/liter along with normal levels of IGF-1 (a mediator of GH's actions) have traditionally been considered desirable treatment goals for acromegaly patients but whether the risks of cardiovascular disease were minimized by achievement of such treatment goals was not known. Two separate groups of researchers have re-examined how successful treatment of acromegaly would impact on cardiovascular risks.

In the first study, Dr. Ian Holdaway and researchers at Aukland Hospital in New Zealand followed 208 acromegalic patients between 1964 and 2000 for an average of 13 years to understand mortality risks associated with acromegaly. During the follow-up, seventy-two patients (35 percent) died at an average age of 61. Researchers found that those who died had a higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes and were more likely to suffer from osteoarthritis and hypopituitarism. The researchers found that patients who had a final GH level below two g/liter were more likely to have survived. In addition, surviving patients had a lower serum IGF-1 score at the last follow-up appointment when compared with the deceased. Patients who achieved GH levels of less than 1 ?g/lite
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Contact: Marisa Lavine
mlavine@endo-society.org
301-941-0255
The Endocrine Society & The Hormone Foundation
18-Feb-2004

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