What is Acromegaly?

What is Acromegaly?

Acromegaly is a rare disorder in which a there is too high of a level of growth hormone in the body. Acromegaly is ...more »

• Acromegaly: A hormonal disorder involving excess growth hormone production by the pituitary gland.
• Acromegaly: disorder caused by excessive secretion of somatotropin, characterized by bony enlargement of face, hands, feet, head and thorax.
  Source - Diseases Database
• Acromegaly: enlargement of bones of hands and feet and face; often accompanied by headache and muscle pain and emotional disturbances; caused by overproduction of growth hormone by the anterior pituitary gland (due to a tumor).
  Source - WordNet 2.1

Acromegaly is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Acromegaly, or a subtype of Acromegaly, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Acromegaly as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet

Acromegaly: Introduction

Types of Acromegaly:

Types of Acromegaly:

• Pituitary-tumor-caused acromegaly
• Non-pituitary-tumor-caused acromegaly
• more types...»

Broader types of Acromegaly:

• Pituitary conditions
• Bizarre medical conditions
• Growth conditions
• Endocrine system conditions
• Musculoskeletal conditions
• more types...»

How many people get Acromegaly?

Prevalance of Acromegaly: 40-60 per million affected people at any time
Prevalance Rate of Acromegaly: approx 1 in 25,000 or 0.00% or 10,880 people in USA [about data]
Incidence (annual) of Acromegaly: 3 per million annual cases
Incidence Rate of Acromegaly: approx 1 in 333,333 or 0.00% or 816 people in USA [about data]

How serious is Acromegaly?

Complications of Acromegaly: see complications of Acromegaly

What causes Acromegaly?

Causes of Acromegaly: see causes of Acromegaly
Cause of Acromegaly: Pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone often due to a tumor.

What are the symptoms of Acromegaly?

Symptoms of Acromegaly: see symptoms of Acromegaly

Complications of Acromegaly: see complications of Acromegaly

Acromegaly: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Acromegaly.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Acromegaly.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Acromegaly: see treatments for Acromegaly
Research for Acromegaly: see research for Acromegaly

Organs Affected by Acromegaly:

Organs and body systems related to Acromegaly include:

• Body
• Pituitary

Name and Aliases of Acromegaly

Main name of condition: Acromegaly

Somatotroph adenoma, Growth hormone excess

Somatotrophinoma, Pituitary tumour (growth hormone secreting) Source - Diseases Database

Acromegalia
Source - WordNet 2.1

Growth hormone excess, Somatotroph adenoma
Source - Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Acromegaly: Related Conditions

Research the causes of these diseases that are similar to, or related to, Acromegaly:

• Growth hormone
• GH
• Somatotroph tumor
• Growth hormone-releasing hormone
• Glycogen synthetase phosphatase
• GSP
• Acral overgrowth
• Macrognathia
• Visceral overgrowth
• Macroglossia
• Panhypopituitarism
• Somatic hypertrophy

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