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| |  AACE Program Advances Care of Acromegaly JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 2, 1996 -- Working from the premise that treating a rare disorder should not be hampered by even rarer patient resources, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) has developed an exciting new program to help the clinical endocrinologist advance the treatment of acromegaly. Acromegaly which affects 15,000 Americans, is a rare disorder caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland. The AACE Acromegaly Care Program is a comprehensive patient management and education program that provides the clinical endocrinologist with professional and patient education materials and easy access to lab testing for IGF-1, an indicator of disease activity and treatment response. If medically appropriate, the program also provides for a one-month patient trial with the most recent drug therapy introduced for the treatment of acromegaly patients. The educational information in the program was developed through an educational grant provided by Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation. The program will be distributed to all clinical endocrinologists nationwide. Information is also available through the AACE Acromegaly Care Program Hotline, 800-239-4925. "Recent advances in drug therapy have broadened the options available to clinical endocrinologists in treating acromegaly. The goal of the AACE Acromegaly Care Program is to provide clinical endocrinologists with a program to enhance patient evaluations and help patients better understand and monitor their disease," said Dr. Stanley Feld, chairman of the AACE Corporate Advisory Board and AACE Past President. Acromegaly is caused by excessive release of growth hormone (GH) from a benign tumor in the pituitary gland. The disease is often characterized by a slow but progressive disfiguring of the face and extremities. The complications of acromegaly, namely hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease lead to an increased mortality rate that is two to four times that expected in the general population. Treatment options include surgery to remove or at least reduce the mass of the underlying tumor, radiation therapy, and drug therapy. The Acromegaly Care Program provides professional services designed specifically for the clinical endocrinologist as well as educational materials for patients. The professional services include: -- IGF-1 Lab Service Test: IGF-I levels are a useful measure of the effectiveness of current treatment for acromegaly. Presently IGF-1 levels are believed to be more useful than random GH levels because they remain constant during the day. -- Acromegaly Management Guide: This guide explores issues associated with the treatment of acromegaly, including surgery, radiation, and drug therapy. -- One-Month Trial of Octreotide (Sandostatin(R)) therapy: If traditional therapies have failed, and the clinical endocrinologist believes treatment with octreotide is indicated, the clinical endocrinologist will be provided with a one-month trial of octreotide. The patient materials include: -- Acromegaly Patient Information Guide: A patient brochure designed to help patients understand their disease and available therapeutic options. -- Self-Injection Brochure: A guide to help patients who are candidates for octreotide become more familiar with the concepts and techniques of self-injection. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists represents 2,500 clinical endocrinologists. AACE's mission is to improve the care of patients with endocrine diseases, and to heighten public awareness of the value of the clinical endocrinologist. AACE was founded in 1990 and has rapidly developed into a strong patient advocate organization providing patient information and patient initiatives on various endocrine diseases. Public access to information on endocrine disease can be reached through AACE's internet home page (http://www.aace.com). The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists was also created to address a need to provide clinical endocrinologists with better tools to face the ever-changing managed care market place. As part of this effort AACE is responsible for a multitude of physician directives. These include the recent Thyroid Awareness Month, and the release of clinical guidelines for the treatment of patients in the areas of diabetes, osteoporosis, hyperparathyroidism and hypoparathyroidism, thyroid nodules, and hypogonadism.
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