Arch. Endocrinol. Metab. 2022;66(3):275-277
Dopaminergic treatment of patients with acromegaly: still kicking after all these years
DOI: 10.20945/2359-3997000000502
In this issue of the Archives of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the article “Efficacy of cabergoline add-on therapy in patients with acromegaly resistance to somatostatin analogs treatment and the review of literature”, by Kizilgul and cols. (), shares an excellent opportunity to review the history and to reappraise the role of dopaminergic treatment in acromegaly.
It all started 50 years ago, when Liuzzi and cols. () reported in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism an inhibitory effect of L-Dopa in patients with acromegaly. That observation was particularly intriguing because L-Dopa, a dopamine precursor, was known to stimulate GH secretion in healthy subjects (). Here is a quote from the discussion in that seminal paper: On the basis of clinical and experimental knowledge we are unable to explain these results…. we believe that the paradoxical fall of plasma GH we observed in some patients affected by acromegaly is of interest and needs more extensive studies. It suggests a new therapeutic approach to the treatment of acromegaly.
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