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Etiology of Acromegaly from the Neuroendocrine Point of View: A Historical Perspective

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Acromegaly

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Abstract

As we attain the one hundredth anniversary of the report by Pierre Marie of a patient with acromegaly (1), it is not unreasonable to ask how the wealth of physiological study of the mechanism of regulation of growth hormone (GH) secretion carried out particularly since 1960 has illuminated the pathogenesis of the disorder and added to our abilities, to diagnose and manage the disease. The object of this chapter is to outline historical aspects of our current understanding of the mechanisms by which GH secretion is normally regulated, and how these may be abnormal in acromegaly. This anniversary report comes at a particularly propitious time because the chemical structures of the two principal hypothalamic factors responsible for GH regulation, growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) (2,3) and somatostatin (4), and of growth hormone (GH) (5) itself have all been elucidated, and the molecular structure of the gene encoding for GH determined (6). The structures of the genes coding for somatostatin (7,8), and the structure of preproGRF have also been elucidated (9,10). It has, therefore, become possible to define the mechanisms controlling synthesis and secretion in molecular terms. Several reviews of this topic have been published (11–24).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA, 02111, USA

    Seymour Reichlin M.D., Ph.D.

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  1. Seymour Reichlin M.D., Ph.D.
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Richard J. Robbins M.D. (Co-Chairman) (Co-Chairman)

  2. Cedars Sinai Medical Center, UCLA School of Medical Science, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Shlomo Melmed M.D. (Co-Chairman) (Co-Chairman)

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© 1987 Plenum Press, New York

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Reichlin, S. (1987). Etiology of Acromegaly from the Neuroendocrine Point of View: A Historical Perspective. In: Robbins, R.J., Melmed, S. (eds) Acromegaly. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1913-9_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1913-9_2

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