Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27497970›Full record

ArticlePituitary2016

"Micromegaly": an update on the prevalence of acromegaly with apparently normal GH secretion in the modern era.

Laura B Butz, Stephen E Sullivan, William F Chandler, Ariel L Barkan

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Pituitary, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Changing understanding of acromegaly epidemiology and early mortality risk.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Acromegaly: diagnostic challenges and individualized treatment.Expert review of endocrinology & metabolism · 2025
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. The Biochemical Diagnosis of Acromegaly.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021
    Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Laura B ButzDivision of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Diabetes, Internal Medicine Department, University of Michigan, 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive, G-1500, P.O. Box 482, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106, USA.
Stephen E SullivanDepartment of Neurosurgery and the Pituitary and Neuroendocrine Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
William F ChandlerDivision of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Diabetes, Internal Medicine Department, University of Michigan, 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive, G-1500, P.O. Box 482, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106, USA.
Ariel L BarkanDivision of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Diabetes, Internal Medicine Department, University of Michigan, 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive, G-1500, P.O. Box 482, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106, USA. abarkan@umich.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5453-0248
University of Michigan · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeApproximately 25 % of cases of clinically active acromegaly cases treated in our academic center between 1996 and 2000, were diagnosed in patients who had elevated plasma IGF-1 levels, but apparently "normal" 24-h mean plasma GH levels. The current study served to update the data for patients with acromegaly referred to our facility, after increasing awareness of this "normal" GH subpopulation throughout the medical community.

methodsA retrospective chart review was conducted on 157 patients with acromegaly who underwent resection of a confirmed somatotroph pituitary adenoma at the University of Michigan Health System between the dates of 1 Jan 2001 to 23 Sept 2015.

resultsOverall prevalence of acromegalic patients with "normal" GH levels, defined as GH <4.7 ng/mL, was 31 %. Over time, the percentage of patients with "normal" GH at diagnosis did not decline: 26 % from 2001 to 2005, 19 % from 2006 to 2010, and 47 % from 2011 to 2015. Mean pituitary tumor size was 1.8 ± 0.1 cm for the group with elevated GH, and 1.2 ± 0.1 cm for the group with "normal" GH (p < 0.001). Percent microadenomas was higher in a group with "normal" GH as compared to those with elevated GH (48 vs. 12 %, p < 0.001), and tumors >2 cm in the maximal diameter were encountered more frequently in the group with elevated GH (43 vs. 14 %, p < 0.001).

conclusionsOur data show that a substantial percentage of patients with clinical acromegaly have "normal" GH, and therefore strengthens the growing body of evidence which supports the leading role of IGF-1 levels in diagnostic evaluation. At the present time, questions about the natural course of "micromegaly" and treatment benefits compared to the subpopulation with elevated GH levels remain unanswered, but research continues to build on our understanding of the heterogeneous population of individuals.

Indexed as

AcromegalyAdenomaAdultFemaleGrowth Hormone-Secreting Pituitary AdenomaHuman Growth HormoneHumansMaleMichiganMiddle AgedPituitary GlandPrevalenceRetrospective StudiesHuman Growth HormoneAcromegalyGrowth hormoneInsulin-like growth factor 1Pituitary tumor

Identifiers

PMID27497970
OpenAlexW2488455261

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.