Acromegaly

Big picture

Acromegaly is a chronic disease caused by excess growth hormone (GH), usually from a GH-secreting pituitary adenoma, leading to increased insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). The key clinical idea is:

GH excess after epiphyseal plate closure → acral and soft tissue enlargement = acromegaly GH excess before epiphyseal plate closure → linear overgrowth = gigantism

The disease is often diagnosed late because changes are slow: larger shoe/ring size, coarser facial features, sweating, snoring, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, arthropathy, and carpal tunnel syndrome. The examiner wants you to recognize the phenotype, confirm it correctly, and know that **rand