This hormone-related condition causes some bones and organs grow bigger in adults. Learn about the symptoms, causes and treatments.
Update Date: 12.03.2025
Acromegaly is a rare condition in adults that causes some bones, organs and other tissue to grow bigger. A small gland in the brain called the pituitary gland drives these changes by making too much growth hormone. This usually happens due to a tumor of the pituitary gland. The tumor isn't cancer.
When the body has too much growth hormone, bones get bigger. In childhood, this leads to increased height as part of a condition called gigantism. In adults with acromegaly, a change in height doesn't happen. Instead, bones in the hands, feet and face become bigger.
These changes happen slowly over many years. So people with acromegaly and their loved ones may take a long time to notice the symptoms. And healthcare professionals may have a hard time finding and treating the condition early on.
Without treatment, acromegaly can lead to other serious and sometimes life-threatening health conditions called complications. But treatments such as surgery, medicine and radiation can lower the risk of complications. Treatment also can improve many acromegaly symptoms.
Acromegaly symptoms can change the way some body parts look. Changes can include:
Skin changes can include:
Most often, people with acromegaly don't have every possible body change. And because the changes come on slowly, they may take years to notice. But over time, rings may no longer fit fingers like they used to. Or shoe size may get bigger. Sometimes, people notice the changes only by comparing old photos with newer ones.
Other acromegaly symptoms can include:
Get a healthcare checkup if you think you have symptoms of acromegaly. The condition usually develops slowly. Even family members may take a long time to notice the physical changes that happen. But it's important for a healthcare professional to find the condition as early as possible. Treatment can help prevent serious health conditions that can happen along with acromegaly.
The most common cause of acromegaly is a tumor in the pituitary gland. The tumor is called an adenoma. It isn't cancer. But it makes too much growth hormone over a long amount of time.
Too much growth hormone causes many symptoms of acromegaly. Some of the symptoms, such as headaches and impaired vision, are due to the tumor pressing on nearby brain tissues.
Rarely, tumors in other parts of the body cause acromegaly. These include tumors of the lung or pancreas. Sometimes these tumors release growth hormone. Or they make a hormone called growth hormone-releasing hormone. This signals the pituitary gland to make more growth hormone.
The pituitary gland is located at the base of the brain, behind the bridge of the nose. It makes growth hormone and other hormones. Growth hormone plays an important role in controlling physical growth.
The pituitary gland releases growth hormone into the bloodstream. This triggers the liver to make a hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1, also called IGF-1. IGF-1 is really what causes bones and other tissues to grow. Too much growth hormone leads to too much IGF-1. And that can cause acromegaly symptoms and complications.
People who have a rare genetic condition called multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 1 have a higher risk of acromegaly. This condition also is called MEN 1.
In MEN 1, the parathyroid glands, pancreas and pituitary gland may grow tumors and release extra hormones. Extra parathyroid hormone can cause thin bones and kidney stones. A pancreas tumor may make the hormone insulin and cause low blood sugar. If the pituitary tumor makes extra growth hormone, acromegaly results. Very rarely, acromegaly can run in families.
Without treatment, acromegaly can lead to other health conditions called complications. These complications can include the following.
Conditions of the heart and blood vessels such as:
Cancer and conditions that can lead to cancer:
Sexual and reproductive health conditions such as:
Other serious conditions including:
Early treatment of acromegaly can prevent these complications or keep them from becoming worse. Without treatment, acromegaly and its complications can lead to early death.
Diagnosis involves the steps that your healthcare professional takes to find out if you have acromegaly. Your healthcare professional asks about your health history and does a physical exam. You also may need the following tests:
Acromegaly treatment aims to improve symptoms and treat or prevent complications. The goal is to lower growth hormone and IGF-1 back to their proper levels and keep them there.
To help lower your growth hormone (GH) and IGF-1 levels, treatment options often include:
Some people need a mix of these treatments. Your treatment plan depends on factors such as:
It's common for some changes in physical features to improve with treatment. For example, swelling of soft tissue often goes down. And the skin often becomes less oily and coarse. But enlarged bones don't return to the size that they used to be.
If you also have other health conditions due to acromegaly, you may need other treatments to manage them.
Surgeons can remove most pituitary tumors using a method called transsphenoidal surgery. A surgeon works through the nose to remove the tumor from the pituitary gland. If the tumor causing symptoms isn't located on the pituitary gland, the surgeon recommends another type of surgery to remove the tumor.
Removing the tumor often returns growth hormone to the right level, especially if the tumor is small. If the tumor was putting pressure on the tissues around the pituitary gland, removing the tumor also helps relieve headaches and vision changes.
Sometimes, surgeons can't remove the whole tumor. When this happens, the level of growth hormone may still be too high after surgery. Another surgery, medicines or radiation treatments may be needed.
Medicine can help lower hormone levels or block the hormones' effects. Your healthcare professional may recommend one or more of the following:
Radiation therapy destroys any leftover tumor cells after surgery to remove the tumor. It also slowly lowers the level of growth hormone. It may take months or years for radiation to improve acromegaly symptoms in ways that you notice.
Radiation often lowers levels of other pituitary hormones too — not just growth hormone. If you get radiation, you'll likely need regular follow-up healthcare visits. These visits let your healthcare professional check your hormone levels and make sure that your pituitary gland is working right. Follow-up care may last for the rest of your life.
Types of radiation therapy include:
You'll likely first see your primary healthcare professional. Or you may be referred right away to a doctor called an endocrinologist who finds and treats hormone conditions.
It's good to prepare for your appointment. Here's some information to help you get ready and to know what to expect from your healthcare professional.
Making a list of questions helps you make the most of your time with your healthcare professional. For acromegaly, some basic questions to ask include:
Feel free to ask any other questions you have.
Your healthcare professional is likely to ask you questions such as:
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