Acromegalic patients have continued to be followed with respect to pituitary irradiation. Further, we are evaluating the effects of transsphenoidal hypophysectomy 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/or the degree of involvement at initial therapy. Thus in patients with relatively severe joint disease, the joint disease progresses in spite of very significant reductions in growth hormone following radiation treatment. Other studies underway are attempting to determine the possible effect of radiation on pituitary function or other complications of therapeutic maneuver.
