Glucose homeostasis in acromegaly: effects of long-acting somatostatin analogues treatment

Summary objective Acromegaly is a syndrome with a high risk of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and diabetes mellitus (DM). Somatostatin analogues, which are used for medical treatment of acromegaly, may exert different hormonal effects on glucose homeostasis. Twenty-four active acromegalic patients were studied in order to determine the long-term effects of octreotide-LAR and SR-lanreotide on insulin sensitivity and carbohydrate metabolism. design Prospective study. patients We studied 24 patients with active acromegaly, 11 males and 13 females, aged 50·7 ± 12·7 years, body mass index (BMI) 30·1 ± 4·8 (kg/m2). measurements All patients underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and 12 also had an euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp. All patients were evaluated at baseline and after 6 months of somatostatin analogues therapy. results Acromegalic patients showed low M-values in respect to the control group at baseline (P