Gigantism and Acromegaly brings together pituitary experts, taking readers from bench research, to genetic analysis, clinical analysis, and new therapeutic approaches. This book serves as a reference for growth hormone over-secretion and its diagnosis and treatment for endocrinologists, pediatricians, internists, and neurosurgeons, and for geneticists. Pharmaceutical companies may use it as a reference for drug development and research. Students, residents and fellows in medicine and endocrinology and genetics will also find it valuable as it provides a single up-to-date review of the molecular biology of gigantism and acromegaly as well as recommended approaches to evaluation and management.
Acromegaly is a rare pituitary disorder that slowly changes its adult victim's appearance over time: larger hands and feet, bigger jaw, forehead, nose, and lips. Generally, a benign pituitary tumor is the cause and symptoms of acromegaly can vary from patient to patient, making a diagnosis difficult and prolonging suffering for years. Early detection is key in the management of acromegaly as the pathologic effects of increased growth hormone (GH) production are progressive and can be life-threatening as the result of associated cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory disorders and malignancies.
- Accessible, up-to-date overview of the characteristics, state-of-the-art diagnostic procedures, and management of acromegaly and gigantism
- Provides a unique compendium of endocrinology, genetics, clinical diagnosis and therapeutics
- Contains contributions from internationally known experts who have treated patients with acromegaly and gigantism
Dr. Stratakis was named Scientific Director of the NICHD in 2011, after serving as Acting Scientific Director of the NICHD since 2009. He received his M.D. and Doctor of Medical Sciences degrees from the National and Capodistrian University of Athens. He did predoctoral work at the Unit of Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Pharmacology at the same University, and at Hospital Cochin, Paris, France, before joining the Developmental Endocrinology Branch of the then National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, first as a student, and then as a postdoctoral fellow in 1988. In 1990, he continued his post-graduate medical education at Georgetown University Medical School, Washington, D.C., where he finished a residency in pediatrics and two fellowships in pediatric endocrinology (as part of the NICHD/Georgetown training program) and in medical genetics and clinical dysmorphology. He is Board certified in pediatrics, pediatric endocrinology, and medical genetics.
Dr. Stratakis identified the genes for Carney complex and Carney-Stratakis syndrome, and other genetic defects leading to adrenal and other tumors, and he and his laboratory have published extensively in the fields of pediatric inherited disorders and cancer genetics, and on other pediatric adrenal and pituitary disorders. He is the author of more than 300 publications and has served as a regular reviewer. He is the author or co-author of nearly 600 publications, and has served as a regular reviewer for more than 100 journals, including Science, Nature Genetics, and the New England Journal of Medicine; he is currently Deputy Editor of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the leading journal in Endocrinology. He has been the recipient of the 1999 Pharmacia-Endocrine Society Award for Excellence in Published Clinical Research, and NIH Merit Awards, and named Visiting Professor in academic centers around the world. In 2009, he was awarded the Ernst Oppenheimer Award of the Endocrine Society.
