Endocrine Abstracts

Purpose: Patients with acromegaly may have changes in balance due to visual disturbances, musculoskeletal abnormalities and changes in body composition. We aim to compare static and dynamic balances in patients with acromegaly and healthy controls and to evaluate effects of exercise on balance in patients with acromegaly.

Methods: Twenty-two patients with acromegaly followed at the Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic of Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty and 11 healthy volunteers were included in the study. The participants (all right-handed) who had vestibular or neurological diseases or physical disabilities were not enrolled in the study. The patients with acromegaly were divided into 2 groups. Eleven patients with acromegaly (group A) were attended to an exercise program which included 75 minutes exercise session, 3 days a week for 3 months whereas the remaining 11 patients with acromegaly (group B) and healthy volunteers (Group C) didn’t take any exercise. Bipedal and unipedal stance static and dynamic balance tests were performed using Prokin 5.0 device.

Results: The ages, gender distribution and educational status were similar between groups. The disease remission status of Group A and B were also similar. The body mass indices of all patients with acromegaly were higher than the control group (P=0.017). When all patients with acromegaly were compared with healthy controls; bipedal static balance values were similar but in unipedal stance analysis, displacement of center of pressure in anterior-posterior direction (C.o.P.Y) was seen in patients with acromegaly when left leg was used when compared with healthy controls (P=0.019). In addition, dynamic balance measurements at forward-backward sway to the left direction were also different than normal (P=0.027). When the exercise effect on balance were evaluated between Group A and group B; the eyes-open pre and post exercise bipedal stance values of patients were similar whereas post-exercise eyes-closed bipedal stance C.o.P.Y (P=0.01) and right and left leg unipedal stance values (P=0.02 vs P=0.03) got better after exercise in Group A. Additionally, various parameters of dynamic balance measurements of both forward-backward and right-left sway also got better after exercise (P=0.01 and P=0.006 respectively).

Conclusions: Imbalances on unipedal stance static and dynamic measurements on left direction were detected in patients with acromegaly, when compared with healthy controls. In addition, eyes-closed anterior-posterior displacements, imbalances on unipedal stances and impairments on dynamic balances on both forward-backward and right-left sway got better with exercise.