Assessment of functional liver mass and plasma flow in acromegaly before and after long-term treatment with octreotide.

Functional liver mass and functional liver plasma flow (FLPF) were assessed in 11 patients with clinical features of acromegaly by determining galactose elimination capacity (GEC) and extrarenal clearance of sorbitol, before and 5 to 7 months after treatment with the long-acting somatostatin analog, octreotide (150 to 600 micrograms/d in three subcutaneous injections). Growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels, as well as liver size by ultrasound, were also recorded. Baseline GEC was increased in every patient but one, for a mean of 0.78 +/- 0.10 g/min (normal, 0.53 +/- 0.07; P < .01). At reevaluation after 5 to 7 months of octreotide treatment, a significant reduction of GEC was observed (0.62 +/- 0.08 g/min, P < .001). Changes of GEC paralleled those of GH (38.6 +/- 34.4 v 11.7 +/- 15.2 micrograms/L, P < .01) and IGF-I (5.0 +/- 1.7 v 2.7 +/- 2.2 U/ml, P < .001). Significant correlations were found between GEC and GH (r = .50, P < .05) and between GEC and IGF-I (r = .55, P < .01). FLPF, assessed by extrarenal clearance of sorbitol, was within the normal limit in all cases (0.98 +/- 0.19 v 0.97 +/- 0.12 L/min, NS) and remained normal after 5 to 7 months of octreotide treatment (0.99 +/- 0.11 L/min). Hepatic structure determined with ultrasonic scanning and conventional liver-function tests were basally normal in all patients, with a slight increase of liver volume in three cases. No change of biochemical and/or morphological features occurred during follow-up evaluation. The results support the hypothesis that GH and especially IGF-I enhance liver metabolic capacity; conversely, functional liver perfusion is largely independent of their actions. Our data also suggest that octreotide is unable to produce well-structured changes of liver circulation when administered long-term.