Young-onset acromegaly and gigantism: Causes and clinical features of growth hormone overproduction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25753/BirthGrowthMJ.v32.i2.26186Keywords:
acromegaly, gigantism, cause, clinical featureAbstract
Depending on the age of onset, the excessive release of growth hormone (GH) − most commonly by a pituitary tumor − and subsequently of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) can cause acromegaly and gigantism.
The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical manifestations and main known causes of GH overproduction.
GH-releasing hormone and IGF1 can result in a series of physical traits and comorbidities due to hormonal imbalance and somatic overgrowth. To date, several syndromes and genetic mutations have been linked to the etiology of acromegaly.
Downloads
References
Colao A, Grasso LFS, Giustina A, Melmed S, Chanson P, Pereira AM, et al. Acromegaly. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2019; 5(1):20. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41472-019-0071-6.
Rostomyan L, Daly AF, Beckers A. Pituitary gigantism: Causes and clinical characteristics. Ann Endocrinol (Paris) 2015;76(6):643-9; doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ando.2015.10.002.
Gadelha MR, Ksuki L, Korbonits M. The genetic background of acromegaly. Pituitary. 2017;20(1):10-21; doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11102-017-0789-7.
Daly AF, Rixhon M, Adam C, Dempegioti A, Tichomirowa MA,Beckers A. High prevalence of pituitary adenomas: across- sectional study in the province of Liege, Belgium. J ClinEndocrinol Metab 2006; 91(12):4769–75. doi: https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2006-1668.
Kwon O, Song YD, Kim SY, Lee EJ Rare Disease Study Group,Science and Research Committee, Korean Endocrine Society, Nationwide survey of acromegaly in South Korea. ClinEndocrinol (Oxf) 2013; 78(4):577–85. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/cen.12020.
Holdaway IM, Rajasoorya C, Epidemiology of acromegaly. Pituitary 1999; 2(1):29–41. doi: https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1009965803750.
Nabarro JD. Acromegaly. Clin Endocrinol 1987; 26(4):481–512.
Reid TJ, Post KD, Bruce JN, Nabi Kanibir M, Reyes-Vidal CM, Freda PU. Features at diagnosis of 324 patients with acromegaly did not change from 1981 to 2006: acromegaly remains under-recognized and under-diagnosed. Clin Endocrinol 2010; 72(2):203–8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2265.2009.03626.x.
Melmed S. Medical progress: Acromegaly . N Engl J Med 2006; 355(24): 2558–73. doi: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra062453.
Molitch ME. Clinical manifestations of acromegaly. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am 1992; 21(3):597–614.
Chanson P, Salenave S. Acromegaly. Orphanet J Rare Dis 2008; 3:17. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/1750-1172-3-17.
Katznelson L., Laws ER Jr, Melmed S, Molitch ME, Murad MH, Utz A, et al. Acromegaly: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline. JCEM 2014; 99(11):3933-51. doi: https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2014-2700. doi:10.1210/jc.2014-2700.
Salenave S, Boyce AM, Collins MT, Chanson P. Acromegaly and McCune-Albright Syndrome. JCEM 2014; 99(6):1955-69. doi: https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2013-3826.
Schöfl C, Honegger J, Droste M, Grussendorf M, Finke R, Plöckinger U, et al. Frequency of AIP gene mutations in young patients with acromegaly: a registry-based study. JCEM 2014; 99(12):E2789-E2793. doi: 10.1210/jc.2014-2094. doi: https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2014-2094.
Beckers A, Rostomyan L, Potorac I, Beckers P, Daly AF. X-LAG: How did they grow so tall? Ann Endocrinol (Paris) 2017; 78(2):131-6. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ando.2017.04.013.
Sargent J. X-linked acrogigantism – genetic characterization of a newly described paediatric growth disorder. Nat Rev Endocrinol 2015; 11(2):64. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2014.230.
Gadelha M.R., Kasuki L., Korbonits M. The genetic background of acromegaly. Pituitary. 2017;20:10–21. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11102-017-0789-7.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Raquel Vaz de Castro, Joana Faustino, Florbela Ferreira, Lurdes Sampaio

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in the Birth and Growth Medical Journal are Open Access and meet the requirements of funding agencies and academic institutions. Third-party use of published content is permitted under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) license. It is the responsibility of authors to obtain permission for reproducing figures, tables, or other materials from previously published works.
Authors must submit a Conflict of Interest statement and an Authorship Form together with their manuscript. A confirmation email will be sent to the corresponding author upon receipt of the submission. Authors are also permitted to deposit their articles in institutional or personal repositories, provided that the original publication in the Birth and Growth Medical Journal is clearly indicated and the terms of the Creative Commons license are respected.