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Acromegaly
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Acromegaly is an uncommon disorder in which the body makes too much growth hormone. Its most common cause is an adenoma, a benign tumor, in the anterior pituitary, the front part of a pea-sized gland that sits beneath the brain.
That extra hormone does not thicken tissues on its own: it drives the production of another substance, insulin-like growth factor 1, and that is what makes the facial features coarser and the hands and feet larger.
A question of timing explains almost everything here. Long bones grow from growth plates, and those plates eventually close. In acromegaly the excess begins after they close, so the person grows no taller. When the same excess starts before they close, the result is gigantism. The body's blueprint is already set: what keeps changing is thickness, not height.
In brief
Acromegaly is a rare disorder caused by excess growth hormone production, most often from an adenoma of the anterior pituitary.
That excess drives production of insulin-like growth factor 1, which coarsens the facial features and enlarges the hands and feet.
Acromegaly occurs after the growth plates close; when the excess begins before they close, the result is gigantism.
The body's blueprint is already set: what keeps changing is thickness, not height.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAcromegaly, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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