New research has taken a significant step in terms of research and care for acromegaly, a rare disease caused by an excess of growth hormone secretion, which occurs in over 99% of cases due to a generally benign pituitary tumor. The research team includes The Endocrine, Thyroid and Obesity research group of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), a center associated with one of the major university hospitals in the Barcelona area, the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital. This group, an international reference in this field and led by Dr.
Manel Puig, has managed to develop a protocol with biomarkers to help patients with acromegaly control the effects caused by the disease earlier. One of its main problems is that it is diagnosed with a delay of about 10 years. This happens when a series of striking skeletal and facial changes become evident, such as the growth of hands and feet, or other such as or the development of joint lesions or various types of cancer.
The group's finding is the result of a nationwide clinical study that, for the first time in the world, has demonstrated that these biomarkers are useful for predicting the effectiveness of the drugs indicated for the control of this disease. For example, the classic treatments—such as the so-called first-generation somatostatin receptor ligands (fgSRL)—until now only have a 50% effectiveness. In this regard, another relevant outcome of this study is that the use of these biomarkers helps to indicate personali.