title: Cabergoline treatment in acromegaly: pros.
abstract: Cabergoline is an ergot-derived dopamine D2 receptor agonist which may be effective for the medical management of acromegaly. Its efficacy in reducing growth hormone and IGF-I levels, as well as its antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on pituitary tumor cells, has been observed in several studies. Cabergoline may be used alone or as an add-on therapy to patients who are partially resistant to somatostatin analogs (SSA), or who do not achieve complete control with maximum doses of pegvisomant (PEG). Additionally, the convenience of its oral administration, allowing better compliance, and its lower economic cost, in comparison with SSA and PEG, favor cabergoline as an attractive option for acromegalic patients, who frequently require long-life medical treatment to achieve disease control. The few adverse events observed with prolonged DA therapy, mainly regarding cardiac valve disease, are not frequent at the doses generally used in acromegaly.
authors: Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Hospital Universitario de la Princesa, Instituto de Investigación Princesa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Diego de León 62, 28006, Madrid, Spain, monica.marazuela@salud.madrid.org.
authors: Mónica
authors: M
authors: Marazuela
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Ramos-Leví
authors: Miguel
authors: M
authors: Sampedro-Núñez
authors: Ignacio
authors: I
authors: Bernabeu
mesh_terms: D000172:Acromegaly / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000077465:Cabergoline; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004873:Ergolines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D015282:Octreotide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D004873:Ergolines; D000077465:Cabergoline; D015282:Octreotide