Acromegaly causes progressive disfigurement especially of the face and extremities:
- Enlargement of the hands,
- feet, forehead, jaw and nose,
- thicker skin and deepening of the voice.
- Excess sweat.
The appearance of systemic manifestations is frequent, due to the enlargement of the viscera and other soft tissues, such as the thyroid, liver, kidney and heart. The patient may suffer the following symptoms: headaches, muscle and joint pain, abnormal enlargement of the heart, arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis and a greater tendency to diabetes.
If not treated in time this can lead to serious health problems, sometimes even fatal.
It is most frequently diagnosed between the ages of 40 and 60, but it can appear in adolescents or in the elderly. It appears in both sexes, somewhat more frequently in women than in men.
Acromegaly is a rare, chronic disease caused by excessive secretion of growth hormone, or GH, which is produced in the pituitary gland. The term acromegaly is used when the disease begins in adulthood. Growth hormone excess is thought to be related to the development of a benign tumor of the pituitary. It can also appear as an adverse effect of treatment with artificial growth hormone.
