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PubMed · 9059560

Elevated fibrinogen levels decrease following treatment of acromegaly.

K Landin-Wilhelmsen·L Tengborn·L Wilhelmsen·B A Bengtsson
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Acromegaly is associated with increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease and from stroke in particular. Fibrinogen is an established risk factor for stroke and myocardial infarction and high levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) activity were predictive of a recurrent myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to analyse fibrinogen and PAI-1 activity in patients with acromegaly before and after treatment. PATIENTS: Twenty patients with acromegaly were compared with healthy controls matched for sex (12 men, 8 women), age (mean 53 +/- 7 years), body mass index (mean 26.5 +/- 2.5 kg/m2) and smoking. Fibrinogen was also compared with a random population sample of men and women (n = 392), aged 25-64 years, from the WHO's MONICA Project, Göteborg, Sweden. RESULTS: The acromegalic patients had a higher lean body mass of 65 +/- 11 vs 59 +/- 11 kg (P < 0.05), lower body fat of 17 +/- 8 vs 25 +/- 10 kg (P < 0.01), higher plasma fibrinogen of 4.0 +/- 0.9 vs 2.4 +/- 0.5 g/l (P < 0.001) and plasma insulin of 15 +/- 14 vs 7 +/- 2 mU/l (P < 0.01), serum triglycerides of 1.5 +/- 0.5 vs 1.2 +/- 0.5 mmol/l (P < 0.05), as well as serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels of 742 +/- 271 vs 168 +/- 51 micrograms/l (P < 0.001) compared with the matched controls. PAI-1 activity was similar, as was total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting blood glucose and blood pressure for acromegalic patients compared with controls. All the acromegalic patients had higher fibrinogen levels (p < 0.001) than the population mean. Plasma fibrinogen correlated positively with serum IGF-I in acromegaly (r = 0.55, P < 0.05). Fibrinogen decreased to a mean value of 3.2 +/- 0.3 g/l on treatment. CONCLUSION: Acromegaly is associated with high fibrinogen levels which may be one explanation for the increased risk of cardiovascular events, and stroke in particular, in this disease. Fibrinogen levels decreased following treatment of acromegaly.

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AcromegalyAdenomaAdultBody CompositionBody Mass IndexFemaleFibrinogenHumansInsulinInsulin-Like Growth Factor IMaleMiddle AgedPituitary NeoplasmsPlasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1Reference ValuesComparative StudyJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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K Landin-Wilhelmsen, L Tengborn, L Wilhelmsen, B A Bengtsson. 1997. Elevated fibrinogen levels decrease following treatment of acromegaly.. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2265.1997.d01-1743.x

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Acromegaly↗
PubMed1998

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Acromegaly↗
PubMed1998

Gonadal status is an important determinant of bone density in acromegaly.

OBJECTIVE: To measure bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with acromegaly and to look for clinical features which may explain previously reported discrepant results. DESIGN: Prospective case controlled observational study. PATIENTS: 18 patients with acromegaly (seven women, 11 men; mean age 53.2 +/- 3.5 years). Eight patients had active disease and 10 had controlled acromegaly. Growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) concentrations were measured to assess disease activity. MEASUREMENTS: BMD was measured at four sites on the lumbar spine, three at the femoral neck and at Ward's triangle using a Hologic dexa scanner. Results were compared to a locally determined control population (n = 1800). In eight patients with active acromegaly, urinary free pyridinoline and deoxypyridinoline, and serum osteocalcin, propeptide of type 1 procollagen, vitamin D, 1000 h parathyroid hormone, bone specific alkaline phosphatase, calcium and phosphate concentrations were measured before and after 6 months treatment with octreotide. RESULTS: The mean BMD for all acromegalic patients was not significantly different from the control population except at the femoral neck where it was increased (P = 0.05). At all sites, the BMD of patients who had been hypogonadal (n = 12/18) was significantly lower (P < 0.05-0.01) than that of patients who had been eugonadal (n = 6/18). BMD for hypogonadal patients was lower than the control population at Ward's triangle (P = 0.03). Eugonadal acromegalic patients had BMD greater than non-acromegalic controls at all sites. Patients with controlled acromegaly had a higher BMD than non-acromegalic controls, but there were no differences in BMD between patients with active and controlled acromegaly. Serum IGF-1 concentrations decreased from 64.5 +/- 5.1 nmol/l to 37.5 +/- 6.9 nmol/l (P = 0.02) after 6 months treatment with octreotide, but there was no change in any of the biochemical markers of bone turnover. CONCLUSIONS: Eugonadal acromegalic patients have increased lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD compared to hypogonodal acromegalic patients and the general population, but it is reduced if patients have been hypogonadal.

Acromegaly↗