Neuropsychological profile in acromegaly: a single center cross sectional analysis and preliminary prospective long-term study

Background Psychological and cognitive disorders have been reported in acromegaly, yet with limited and heterogeneous data, especially concerning long-term cognitive functioning. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study enrolling 44 acromegalic patients and 40 healthy controls. We systematically assessed anxiety and depressive symptoms through the State–trait Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory, respectively. We investigated their cognitive functioning thorough a wide battery of 16 tests addressing verbal and visuo-spatial memory, attention, verbal fluencies, executive functions and constructional praxis. Moreover, we performed a prospective evaluation in a 10-year time-span of a small subgroup of patients. Results Clinically significant depressive and anxiety symptoms were registered in 23 and 35% of patients respectively, mostly in the group with active disease at evaluation. Concerning cognition, patients scored worse than controls in all cognitive domains explored, with a significant difference registered in almost all tests administered. Moreover, hypopituitarism and IGF-1 levels seem to be related to a worse cognitive performance, especially in the group of tests exploring the memory domain. In the prospective group, with the limitation of a really small sample size, we observed a global improvement over time in all domains evaluated. Conclusion Acromegaly is characterized by higher levels of psychological distress and poorer neurocognitive functioning, with a possible association with activity of disease.