What hormone levels are typically elevated in a person with acromegaly?

In cases of acromegaly, growth hormone levels are typically elevated due to an abnormality in the pituitary gland, usually caused by a benign tumor called an adenoma. This increase in growth hormone leads to excessive growth of bones and tissues and manifests clinically as enlargement of facial features, hands, and feet, as well as other systemic effects.

The primary mechanism behind acromegaly involves the overproduction of growth hormone, which stimulates the liver to produce insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), further promoting growth and cell proliferation. Diagnosing acromegaly often includes measuring insulin-like growth factor levels, but the increase in growth hormone itself is a hallmark of the disorder.

Understanding this helps clarify that while other hormones such as cortisol, insulin, and progesterone have various roles in the body, they are not directly related to the pathophysiology of acromegaly, which is fundamentally characterized by elevated growth hormone levels.