Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0037315 (sleep apnea)
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Acromegaly is a chronic disorder invariably caused by a growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary tumour and is characterised by disabling symptoms (sweating, arthralgia, headache, paraesthesiae, fatigue), significant comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, sleep apnoea), and premature mortality. Symptomatic control can be achieved by lowering insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) concentrations to within the age-adjusted normal range, and survival can be improved to match that of the general population. However, even with optimal surgery and current medical therapies (dopamine agonists, somatostatin analogues), 30% to 50% of patients do not achieve target concentrations of IGF-I and GH. Pegvisomant is a new GH-receptor antagonist that blocks GH activity by inhibiting functional dimerisation of GH-receptors. Given as subcutaneous injections at dosages of 10 mg, 15 mg, or 20 mg/day for 3 Months, pegvisomant normalised serum IGF-I concentrations in, respectively, 54%, 81%, and 89% of acromegalic patients. Moreover, long-term pegvisomant therapy normalised IGF-I concentrations in 97% of patients treated for 12 Months or longer, with no evidence of tachyphylaxis. Pegvisomant is the most effective medical therapy, reported to date, in terms of normalisation of circulating IGF-I concentrations. In addition, pegvisomant appears to be safe and well tolerated. Although additional long-term studies are required to further assess safety, the introduction of this innovative treatment should allow for optimal disease control in patients with acromegaly.
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PMID:Pegvisomant: an advance in clinical efficacy in acromegaly. 1267 Feb 98

Acromegaly is an acquired disorder related to excessive production of growth hormone (GH) and characterized by progressive somatic disfigurement (mainly involving the face and extremities) and systemic manifestations. The prevalence is estimated at 1:140,000-250,000. It is most often diagnosed in middle-aged adults (average age 40 years, men and women equally affected). Due to insidious onset and slow progression, acromegaly is often diagnosed four to more than ten years after its onset. The main clinical features are broadened extremities (hands and feet), widened thickened and stubby fingers, and thickened soft tissue. The facial aspect is characteristic and includes a widened and thickened nose, prominent cheekbones, forehead bulges, thick lips and marked facial lines. The forehead and overlying skin is thickened, sometimes leading to frontal bossing. There is a tendency towards mandibular overgrowth with prognathism, maxillary widening, tooth separation and jaw malocclusion. The disease also has rheumatologic, cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic consequences which determine its prognosis. In the majority of cases, acromegaly is related to a pituitary adenoma, either purely GH-secreting (60%) or mixed. In very rare cases, acromegaly is due to ectopic secretion of growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) responsible for pituitary hyperplasia. The clinical diagnosis is confirmed biochemically by an increased serum GH concentration following an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and by detection of increased levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). Assessment of tumor volume and extension is based on imaging studies. Echocardiography and sleep apnea testing are used to determine the clinical impact of acromegaly. Treatment is aimed at correcting (or preventing) tumor compression by excising the disease-causing lesion, and at reducing GH and IGF-I levels to normal values. Transsphenoidal surgery is often the first-line treatment. When surgery fails to correct GH/IGF-I hypersecretion, medical treatment with somatostatin analogs and/or radiotherapy can be used. The GH antagonist (pegvisomant) is used in patients that are resistant to somatostatin analogs. Adequate hormonal disease control is achieved in most cases, allowing a life expectancy similar to that of the general population. However, even if patients are cured or well-controlled, sequelae (joint pain, deformities and altered quality of life) often remain.
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PMID:Acromegaly. 1857 66

Acromegaly is a rare condition characterized by excessive secretion of growth hormone (GH), which is almost always due to a pituitary adenoma. Acromegaly is associated with significant morbidity such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cardiomyopathy, obstructive sleep apnoea, malignancy and musculoskeletal abnormalities. Acromegaly has also been associated with increased mortality in several retrospective studies. This review will focus on the epidemiological data relating to mortality rates in acromegaly, the relationship between acromegaly and malignancy, the role of GH and insulin-like growth factor-I in assessing the risk of future mortality, and the impact of radiotherapy and hypopituitarism on mortality.
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PMID:Treatment Factors That Influence Mortality in Acromegaly. 2566 47

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex multisystem disorder due to the absent expression of the paternally active genes in the PWS critical region on chromosome 15 (15q11.2-q13). The syndrome is considered the most common genetic cause of obesity, occurring in 1:10,000-1:30,000 live births. Its main characteristics include neonatal hypotonia, poor feeding, and lack of appetite in infancy, followed by weight gain, lack of satiety, and uncontrolled appetite, frequently after the age of 2-3 years. The clinical picture includes short stature, multiple endocrine abnormalities (hypogonadism, growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-I axis dysfunction, hypothyroidism, central adrenal insufficiency), dysmorphic features, scoliosis, osteoporosis, mental retardation, and behavioral and psychiatric problems. Subjects with PWS will become severely obese unless their food intake is strictly controlled. Constant and obsessive food seeking behavior can make life very difficult for both the family and caretakers. Prevention of obesity is mandatory in these patients from the first years of life, because once obesity develops it is difficult to maintain the control of food intake. In fact, PWS subjects die prematurely from complications conventionally related to obesity, including diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, respiratory insufficiency, and cardiovascular disease. The mechanisms underlying hyperphagia in PWS are not completely known, and to date no drugs have proven their efficacy in controlling appetite. Consequently, dietary restriction, physical activity, and behavior management are fundamental in the prevention and management of obesity in PWS. In spite of all available therapeutic tools, however, successful weight loss and maintenance are hardly accomplished. In this context, clinical trials with new drugs have been initiated in order to find new possibilities of a therapy for obesity in these patients. The preliminary results of these studies seem to be encouraging. On the other hand, until well-proven medical treatments are available, bariatric surgery can be taken into consideration, especially in PWS patients with life-threatening comorbidities.
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PMID:Obesity management in Prader-Willi syndrome: current perspectives. 3032 38