Purpose

Evaluation of the lacrimal gland volume (LGV) and its correlation with tear film functions, serum growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels in acromegaly patients compared to a control group was aimed.

Methods

This prospective case-control study included the eyes of 38 patients with uncontrolled (UA) and 48 patients with controlled acromegaly (CA) and 44 patients with nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma. LGV of the patients was evaluated at the baseline, 3rd, and 6th-month visits with magnetic resonance imaging. Schirmer's test, tear breakup time (TBUT), and ocular surface disease index (OSDI) scores were evaluated at the same visits. Their correlation with serum IGF-1 and GH was investigated. Main outcome measure was the difference in mean LGV.

Results

The mean LGV of the acromegaly patients at the baseline visit (116.0 ± 33.2 mm³) and the 3rd-month visit (119.5 ± 36.4 mm³) was higher than the control group (65.2 ± 22.3 mm³ and 63.2 ± 22.3 mm³, respectively; p < 0.001) without any significant difference between the UA and CA patients in the LGV in three consecutive visits (p > 0.05). Among all patients, IGF-1 and GH levels showed a positive correlation with the LGV (p < 0.001; r = 0.52; r = 0.6, respectively). However, Schirmer, TBUT, and OSDI scores did not show any difference among the three groups at each visit (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Acromegaly patients may have larger lacrimal glands compared to the controls and this increase correlated with the increased IGF-1 and GH levels. Lacrimal gland volume may have no effect on its tear film related functions.

中文翻译：

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肢端肥大症患者泪腺肿大和泪膜改变：一项对照研究

目的

目的是评估与对照组相比肢端肥大症患者的泪腺体积 (LGV) 及其与泪膜功能、血清生长激素 (GH) 和胰岛素样生长因子-1 (IGF-1) 水平的相关性。

方法

这项前瞻性病例对照研究包括 38 例未控制 (UA) 患者和 48 例控制肢端肥大症 (CA) 患者和 44 例无功能垂体腺瘤患者的眼睛。患者的 LGV 在基线、第 3 个月和第 6 个月就诊时通过磁共振成像进行评估。Schirmer 试验、泪液破裂时间 (TBUT) 和眼表疾病指数 (OSDI) 评分在相同的访问中进行评估。研究了它们与血清 IGF-1 和 GH 的相关性。主要结果测量是平均 LGV 的差异。

结果

肢端肥大症患者在基线访视（116.0 ± 33.2 mm ³）和第 3 个月访视（119.5 ± 36.4 mm ³）时的平均 LGV 高于对照组（65.2 ± 22.3 mm ³和 63.2 ± 22.3 mm ³，分别；p  < 0.001）在 LGV 中 UA 和 CA 患者在连续 3 次就诊中无显着差异（p  > 0.05）。在所有患者中，IGF-1 和 GH 水平与 LGV 呈正相关（分别为p  < 0.001；r = 0.52；r = 0.6）。然而，Schirmer、TBUT 和 OSDI 评分在每次访视时三组之间没有显示任何差异（p  > 0.05）。

结论

与对照组相比，肢端肥大症患者的泪腺可能更大，这种增加与 IGF-1 和 GH 水平的增加相关。泪腺体积可能对其泪膜相关功能没有影响。