Role of somatostatin receptor subtypes in acromegaly

The clinical introduction of the long acting somatostatin (SS) analogs in the early 1980s added a new dimension to the treatment of acromegaly. Octreotide and lanreotide form a safe and effective medical therapeutic modality for acromegaly, mimicking the action of the native hypothalamic peptide SS as the principal negative regulator of GH secretion by pituitary somatotrophs. This review discusses the current knowledge on clinical efficacy of the current clinically available SS analogs as a widely accepted treatment option for acromegaly. Moreover, based on the efforts by several research groups that provided essential insights with respect to SS receptor (patho) physiology, we will also focus upon newly developed SS analogs that can become of additional value to increase the number of acromegalic patients that can be controlled during long-term medical treatment.