Acromegaly

Acromegaly, chronic disease marked by overgrowth of hands, feet, and lower part of the face, resulting from excessive production of somatotropin, the growth-stimulating hormone (HORMONE). In many cases, oversecretion of the hormone can be traced to a tumor of the pituitary gland.

Acromegaly is accompanied by progressive weakness and sometimes by diabetes mellitus; on occasion it occurs during lactation. The disease usually appears in adulthood and frequently affects more than one member of a family.

Treatment consists of microsurgical removal of hyperfunctioning tissue, pituitary irradiation, and drugs that suppress growth hormone.A similar disorder, gigantism, occurs in children, producing overgrowth of the long bones of the body. A deficiency in growth hormone production results in dwarfism, a condition marked by abnormally short bone development. acromegaly in medical terminology