[Pathogenesis of the acromegalic syndrome in syringomyelia].

Clinical observations of 90 patients suffering from syringomyelia revealed growth defects frequent with this pathology, such as, short height, acromegalia, macrosomia, cheiromegalia, costal hump. Hormonal examinations with determination of the growth hormone content in the blood carried out by functional tests confirmed the frequently observed disturbance of the somatotropic function of the hypophysis in syringomegalic patients. The leading role of the change of the hypothalamus functional state and the disturbance of the hypothalamohypophysial interrelations were revealed. Distinctions are made between cerebral acromegalia which is due to an affection of the diencephalon and is combined with other metabolo-endocrinal disorders, and segmental acromegaly developing within the zone of impaired innervation because of frequent affections of the spinal cord, disturbances of the trophics, and increase of the sensitivity of the peripheral tissue receptors to the growth hormone.