Female Gonadal Function Before and After Treatment of Acromegaly

The study conducted over a 20-year period from 1985 to 2005 involved 55 premenopausal women with acromegaly, aged 17 to 45 years, and found that 69% of them had anovulatory cycles, indicating a high prevalence of gonadal dysfunction. The causes of this dysfunction varied, with 11 women having hyperprolactinemia, 6 affected by hypogonadism due to a mass effect, 14 with mixed or unclassifiable causes, and 7 with dysfunction likely due to GH/IGF-I excess. Notably, 2 women had PCOS that resolved after treatment normalized their GH/IGF-I levels. Despite these issues, 38 women were able to conceive and have healthy children. The study concluded that gonadal dysfunction in women with acromegaly could be due to the effects of prolactin, GH, or both on the gonadotropic axis, tumor mass effect, or the direct effect of GH or IGF-I on the ovary.