Amelioration of cardiovascular risk factors with partial biochemical control of acromegaly

Objective Complete remission of acromegaly is associated with favourable changes in cardiovascular risk parameters. We evaluated the effects of suboptimal therapy on haemodynamic, metabolic, inflammatory and coagulation cardiovascular risk indices. Design and methods Eighteen acromegalic patients on somatostatin analogues, with incomplete biochemical control, were evaluated at diagnosis and 6 months after treatment and compared to 15 healthy age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched controls. Measurements of blood pressure, GH, IGF-I, glucose, insulin, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), lipids, apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1), apoB, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), fibrinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and circulating thrombomodulin were performed in all study participants, followed by an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Insulin sensitivity (IS) was expressed by the Matsuda index (OGTT(ISI)). Results Partial control of acromegaly resulted in a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glucose, insulin, HbA1c, total (T-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride levels, and a significant increase in apoA1, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and OGTT(ISI) compared to pretreatment levels. Plasma fibrinogen and PAI-1 levels fell significantly [respectively (mean +/- SEM), 11.04 +/- 0.41 vs. 10.12 +/- 0.34 mu mol/l, P = 0.003 and 9.6 +/- 1.97 vs. 6.55 +/- 1.89 mu g/l, P < 0.001]. However, a marked reduction in tPA [median (IQR) 5.1 (2.5-15) vs. 3.4 (2.4-8.6) mu g/l, P = 0.031] and an increase in hs-CRP [median (IQR) 0.05 (0.03-0.11) vs. 0.1 (0.06-0.23) mg/l, P < 0.001] were also noted. On treatment, acromegalic patients were comparable to controls, except for OGTT(ISI), lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], fibrinogen and tPA and HDL-C levels. Thrombomodulin and apoB levels were not affected by treatment. Conclusions Partial control in disease activity following somatostatin analogues results in significant improvement in a considerable number of cardiovascular risk markers in acromegaly.