Octreotide for acromegaly treatment: a reappraisal.

Introduction: Acromegaly is a rare disorder characterized by excess secretion of growth hormone (GH) generally caused by a pituitary macroadenoma and associated with reduced life expectancy if the disease is untreated. This article covers the recent available evidences published on octreotide , the first somatostatin analog introduced into clinical practice for the medical treatment of acromegaly.

Areas Covered: This article discusses i) pharmacology of somatostatin and octreotide; ii) biochemical effects of regular octreotide and long-acting repeatable formulation; iii) tumor shrinkage effects of octreotide in acromegaly; iv) impact of octreotide on acromegalic clinical manifestations and chronic complications; v) safety of octreotide and vi) place of octreotide in the guidelines for acromegaly treatment.

Serum TSH values and risk of vertebral fractures in euthyroid post-menopausal women with low bone mineral density.

Introduction: There is evidence that variations of thyrotropin (TSH) even in its reference range may influence bone mineral density (BMD). In fact, low-normal TSH values have been associated with high prevalence of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. However, data associating TSH and risk of fractures are scanty and limited to subjects with subclinical thyrotoxicosis.

Prevalence of vertebral fractures in men with acromegaly.

Context: Data on osteoporotic fractures in acromegaly are limited. An increased prevalence of radiological vertebral fractures was already observed in postmenopausal women with active acromegaly. It is unknown whether this observation may reflect a more general increased risk of fractures in acromegaly.