Acromegaly Treatment

Answer: a, c

Bromocriptine, a dopamine receptor agonist, has been demonstrated to lower GH levels in 71% of 126 acromegalic patients. A clinical response was achieved in up to 95% of acromegalic patients, and reduced somatomedin C levels were found in some patients with persistently elevated GH levels. Bromocriptine does not appear to be an effective primary treatment for acromegaly, but may help to control GH and somatomedin C levels as an adjuvant therapy.

A somatostatin analogue, octeotide, has recently been used to treat acromegaly and has been demonstrated to significantly reduce GH and somatomedin C levels in most patients and normalize values in 50%. This treatment provides only minimal tumor shrinkage, and GH levels rise again immediately following cessation of the drug. This drug may prove to be useful as a preoperative treatment or in surgical failures.

Vasopressin and prednisone have no role in the treatment of acromegaly.

Category: