Acromegaly is a chronic disease caused by excessive growth hormone production, usually from a pituitary tumor, leading to enlarged hands, feet, and lower face. Gigantism is similar but occurs in childhood, resulting in excessive growth and height over 7 feet. Panhypopituitarism is decreased secretion of pituitary hormones, causing dwarfism in children and Simmond's disease in adults, characterized by multiple hormone deficiencies.

1. 1
Acromegaly
• Chronic disease marked by over growth of
hands, feet and lower part of the face, resulting
from excessive production of somatotropin, the
growth – stimulating hormone.
• In many cases, over secretion of the hormone
can be traced to a tumor of the pituitary gland.
Acromegaly is accompanied by progressive
weakness and some times by diabetes mellitus.

2. 2
• The disease usually appears in adulthood.
• Treatment consists of microsurgical
removal of hyper functioning tissue,
pituitary irradiation, and drugs that
suppress growth hormone.
Clinical features:
• Soft tissues, become enlarge and bones
increase in thickness.

3. 3
• Enlargement of hands,especially finger
tips.
• Feet enlarge.
• Enlargement of the mandible,causing
spreading of the teeth.
• Enlargement of internal organs,such as
the liver,heart,spleen,kidneys and lungs.
• Enlarged tongue.

4. 4
Gigantism
• Excessive symmetrical growth, especially
of the arms and legs, accompanied by a
corresponding growth in height of the
entire body.
• The subjects look like the giants with
average height of about 7-8 feet.
Causes:
• Gigantism is due to hypersecretion of GH
in childhood.

5. 5
• Acidophilic tumors of the anterior pituitary
gland.
• Increased somatomedin formation.
Signs and symptoms:
– Height of more than 7-8 feet.
– The limbs are disproportionately long.
– The giants are hyperglycemic and they
develop glycosuria pituitary diabetes.

6. 6
• The hyper glycemia causes constant
stimulation of β cells of islets of
langerhans in the pancreas and release of
insulin.
• However, the over activity of β cells of
langerhans in pancreas leads to
degeneration of these cells and deficiency
of insulin. And, ultimately diabetes mellitus
is developed.

7. 7
• The tumor of the pituitary gland itself
causes constant headache.
• Pituitary tumor also causes visual
disturbances.
Treatment:
– Surgical removal.
– Irradiation of the anterior pituitary gland.

8. 8
Panhypopituitarism
• This term means decreased secretion of
all the hormones of the anterior pituitary
gland.
• If Panhypopituitrism occurs in children it
causes Dwarfism. If it occurs in adults it
causes Simmond`s disease.
• 1-Dwarfism:
• This is panhypopituitarism in children.

9. 9
Causes:
• Congenital defect.
• Inflammation of anterior pituitary gland.
• Surgical damage to pituitary gland.
Characteristics of dwarfism:
• The features of the body are developed in
appropriate proportion to each other, but
the rate of growth is altered.

10. 10
• A child who reaches the age of 8-10 years
may have the bodily development of a
child of 4-5 years of age. when this child
reaches the age of 18,he or she may have
the bodily development of 7-8 year old
child.
• No thyroid deficiency is observed.
• No adrenocortical deficiency is observed.

11. 11
Treatment:
• Now a days human growth hormone can
be synthesized by Escherichia coli
bacteria, as a result of successful
application of recombinant DNA
technology.

12. 12
2. Simmond`s disease:
• This is panhypopituitarism in adult.
• Causes:
– Trauma to the pituitary gland.
– Inflammation of the pituitary gland.
– Thrombosis of the pituitary blood vessels.

13. 13
Characteristics:
– Hypothyroidism.
– Decreased secretion of FSH and LH, causing
loss of sexual functions.
– Weight gain.
Treatment:
– The patient should be treated with
adrenocortical and thyroid hormones.