Abstract
Fourteen patients with acromegaly were treated with bromocryptine (CB 154, Sandoz),
4 × 2.5 mg, for periods of up to eleven months. One patient did not tolerate the drug,
ten of the remaining thirteen experienced considerable clinical improvement. There
was a dose-dependent suppression of plasma growth hormone levels, but growth hormone
response to TRH injection and to glucose administration was still present during therapy
although reduced. TSH response to TRH was not significantly altered. The suppressive
power of bromocryptine on growth hormone appears to be related to the mechanism by
which TRH stimulates growth hormone secretion in acromegaly, but long-term administration
of this drug may be successful in spite of an absent response to TRH in some cases.
Bromocryptine appears to be a safe and effective drug for the treatment of acromegaly.
Key words
Acromegaly - Growth Hormone - TRH - Bromocryptine
