title: Chronic treatment with the somatostatin analog octreotide improves cardiac abnormalities in acromegaly.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a 6-month octreotide treatment on cardiac mass and function by means of Doppler echocardiography in 11 normotensive patients affected with active acromegaly. The GH and insulin-like growth factor-I levels were normalized during octreotide therapy from 34 +/- 6.5 and 767.4 +/- 72.4 micrograms/L to 4.6 +/- 0.9 and 235 +/- 10.3 micrograms/L, respectively (P < 0.001; mean +/- SEM). After the 6-month treatment, we observed a significant decrease in the left ventricular mass index from 138 +/- 11 to 116 +/- 13 g/m2 (P < 0.001) and in the mean wall thickness/internal end-diastolic radius ratio from 0.47 +/- 0.1 to 0.44 +/- 0.1 (P < 0.001). No significant differences were found in systolic function indices, whereas diastolic filling indices improved over the course of the therapy; the isovolumic relaxation time decreased from 115 +/- 6 to 100 +/- 6 ms (P < 0.05), tricuspid late diastolic filling velocities decreased from 41 +/- 3 to 36 +/- 2 cm/s (P < 0.03), and tricuspid deceleration time decreased from 280 +/- 28 to 198 +/- 15 ms (P < 0.005); the ratio of early to late peak velocity of the right ventricular filling significantly increased from 1 +/- 0.01 to 1.3 +/- 0.1 (P < 0.03). A significant correlation was detected between left ventricular mass regression and increase in the early to late peak velocity ratio of the left ventricular filling (r = 0.62; P < 0.05). The results of this study show an improvement in cardiac structural and functional abnormalities during chronic treatment with octreotide, thus supporting the hypothesis of a specific heart disease secondary to high circulating GH levels.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra di Endocrinologia e Istituto di Medicina Interna, II Facoltá di Medicina e Chirurgia, Universitá di Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Merola
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cittadini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colao
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ferone
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fazio
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sabatini
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Biondi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Saccá
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lombardi
mesh_terms: D000172:Acromegaly / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D015282:Octreotide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D013006:Growth Hormone; D015282:Octreotide