Impaired neurocognitive functioning in acromegaly--case report

Background: Acromegaly is caused by a growth hormone (GH) excess generally due to a pituitary adenoma. Long term exposure to high levels of GH lead to structural brain alterations, especially in the temporal and prefrontal region. The consequence is the impairment of the neurocognitive functioning,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBulletin of Integrative Psychiatry Vol. 22; no. 2; p. 79
Main Authors Ghita, Emilia, Preda, Cristina, Botezatu, Cezara, Dumbrava, Andrei, Vulpoi, Carmen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Institute of Psychiatry Socola, Iasi 01.06.2016
Subjects
Acromegaly
Cognitive disorders
Development and progression
Risk factors
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Summary:Background: Acromegaly is caused by a growth hormone (GH) excess generally due to a pituitary adenoma. Long term exposure to high levels of GH lead to structural brain alterations, especially in the temporal and prefrontal region. The consequence is the impairment of the neurocognitive functioning, and especially of the attention and the executive function. Case description: We describe the case of a 66 year old woman diagnosed 33 years ago with acromegaly caused by a pituitary macroadenoma. She has received two cures of cobaltotherapy, and afterwards a treatment with bromocriptine and lanreotide for five years. In time, she developed an increased deterioration of her mood, being diagnosed with major depression and panic attacks. Tests applied showed below average scores concerning attention and executive function. Conclusion: Long term acromegaly evolution induced in our patient impaired neurocognitive functions. The cognitive performance was damaged, particularly the attention, short and long term memory and executive function. KEYWORDS acromegaly, cognitive dysfunction, memory, depression
ISSN:1453-7257