| Poster | Poster Session 09 Program Schedule
02/16/2024
03:30 pm - 04:45 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)
Poster Session 09: Epilepsy | Oncology | MS | Infectious Disease
Final Abstract #17
Acromegaly and Its Impact on Cognitive Functioning in Patients with Pituitary Adenoma
Aleksandra Bala, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Agnieszka Olejnik, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Tomasz Dziedzic, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Andrzej Marchel, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Przemysław Kunert, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Category: Medical/Neurological Disorders/Other (Adult)
Keyword 1: hormones
Keyword 2: endocrine disorders
Keyword 3: brain tumor
Objective:
Acromegaly is a rare endocrine disorder characterized by excessive growth hormone (GH) secretion, caused by pituitary adenomas. For a long time, the focus in acromegalic patients has been on the physical manifestations and complications, often overshadowing the potential neuropsychological outcome. Thus, the influence of GH overproduction on cognitive functioning remains an underexplored aspect. Aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between acromegaly and cognitive performance in patients with pituitary adenomas.
Participants and Methods:
The study involved 21 patients with pituitary adenomas secreting GH (age: 43,3±12,5; years of education: 12,6±3,1) as well as a control group consisting of 21 demographically matched healthy subjects. Criteria for exclusion from the study were: the history of neurological or psychiatric disorders, significant visual field defects and chronic medication due to other diseases. Subjects were tested with a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests, evaluating memory (California Verbal Learning Test - CVLT, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure – recall, Digit Span from WAIS-R), attention (Color Trails Test, Visual Elevator from TEA), verbal fluency (semantic and phonemic), naming (Boston Naming Test), visuospatial functions (Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure – copy, Block Design from WAIS-R) and executive functions (Tower of London - ToL, Stroop Test). The neuropsychological evaluation of patients with adenoma was conducted just at the beginning of their medical treatment to avoid the influence of the medication intake.
Results:
The results showed that differences in functioning between patients and healthy individuals referred mainly to verbal (delayed recall in CVLT: p < 0.01) and visual (ROCF: p < 0.01) memory, attention (Visual Elevator from TEA: p < 0.05), executive functions (ToL extra moves: p < 0.05) and working memory (Digit Span backwards: p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in naming, verbal fluency and visuospatial functions. Bigger tumors were associated with more severe deficits of attention (Visual Elevator from TEA: r = -0.6, p < 0.05) and verbal memory (delayed recall in CVLT: r = -0.4, p < 0.05), but there were no significant correlations between test results and level of GH.
Conclusions:
Growth hormone overproduction can affect cognitive processes, especially memory, attention and executive functioning. Neuropsychological examination should therefore be the gold standard in the diagnosis of this group of patients. This would allow for the implementation of an appropriate therapeutic strategy and increase the chance of improving the quality of life of people treated for acromegaly.
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