Acromegaly is mainly caused by excessive secretion of growth hormone (GH) due to hypersecretion of pituitary GH tumor or hyperplasia of pituitary GH cells. Persistent excessive secretion of GH causes gigantism before the epiphyses close and acromegaly after the epiphyses close. Acromegaly has an insidious onset, slow progression, and is characterized by hyperplasia and hypertrophy of bones, soft tissues, and internal organs, manifested as facial changes, enlargement of the ends of hands, feet, and toes, thickened skin, enlargement of internal organs, and bone and joint lesions. The diagnosis and treatment of this disease are often delayed, and the incidence of pituitary tumor compression symptoms, diabetes, diabetes combined with infection, hypertension, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, respiratory system diseases, and colorectal cancer and other malignant tumors increases, seriously affecting the health and quality of life of patients, shortening life expectancy.
Os pacientes com acromegalia têm início oculto, progressão lenta, metade dos pacientes quando diagnosticados, a doença está em5Anos, o mais longo pode superar30 years. The clinical manifestations of patients are mainly determined by the size, growth rate, secretion status of growth hormone, and the impact on normal pituitary tissue compression of the pituitary tumor itself. The main manifestations include local compression of the pituitary tumor and excessive secretion of GH. The diagnosis of acromegaly is not difficult, and detailed medical history and physical examination are the basic basis for diagnosis. Laboratory tests and special examinations are helpful in determining the diagnosis of difficult cases. However, due to the concealed onset, slow progression of the disease, insufficient understanding of the disease by doctors and patients, doctors often fail to detect and diagnose the disease early, delay treatment, and some patients with acromegaly often have obvious symptoms and signs, even chronic complications in the late stage (such as diabetes, hypertension, myocardial hypertrophy, etc.) before realizing the need for medical consultation.