Acromegalic patients have continued to be followed with respect to pituitary irradiation. Further, we are evaluating the effects of transsphenoidal hypothysectomy in these patients and comparing them to the pituitary-irradiated patients. A group of patients in a long-term follow-up study was evaluated to determine the effect of joint disease as a function of time following pituitary radiation. It appears that the joint disease is a function of the age of the patient and to the degree of involvement of initial therapy. Thus in patients with relatively severe joint disease, the joint disease progresses in spite of very significant reductions in growth hormone that occur following radiation therapy. Other studies underway are attempting to determine the effect of pituitary radiation on possible brain function or other complications of therapeutic maneuver.
