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Coarseness of facial features – is this category a subjective sign, or can a really human face become coarse, and how? In some cases, it happens that the human face, it would seem, does not change significantly, that is, the shape and location of all parts of the face, the color of the eyes – everything remains unchanged, but at the same time its features become larger, recognizable, rough.
Facial roughness: what is it and how does it happen
The coarsening of facial features is, in fact, their enlargement, in which they are expressed more clearly. There is an increase in the bones of the cheekbones and superciliary arches, the lower jaw, as it were, expands, which increases the distance between the teeth. The soft tissues of the face also undergo a change – a person visually becomes larger in size of the nose, auricles, lips, and the skin on the face forms folds, especially on the back of the head, forehead and cheeks. As a result, the appearance of the affected person subtly changes, his face is very similar to what it was before, but at the same time it becomes rougher.
It should be noted that such a problem does not manifest itself in isolation – hair also begins to grow intensively throughout the body, on the trunk and limbs, the vocal cords thicken, the voice becomes lower and rougher, snoring appears.
The hands and feet undergo bone changes, they increase in width, the heel bones thicken. In humans, the volume of the chest even expands due to the fact that the intercostal spaces increase. The spine can be deformed with the subsequent development of kyphosis or scoliosis.
Why does pathology appear, what can it mean
All the signs described above are characteristic manifestations of a pathological increase in the production of growth hormone – acromegaly. It is for acromegaly that a similar increase in bone and soft tissue structures throughout the human body is characteristic. Internal organs increase disproportionately, the skeleton seems to coarsen facial features, the size of the hand and feet grows. The disease usually affects men and women aged 30 to 50, practically does not occur in children and the elderly, and is more often diagnosed in women.
The change in the appearance of the patient occurs gradually, and he himself, seeing himself daily in the mirror, practically does not notice him. Rather, he will be informed of the coarsening of his appearance by the people around him, especially those who see the patient infrequently.
If a person combines all the symptoms described above, this, with a high probability, indicates the development of acromegaly, a disease of the pituitary gland, in which the organ, for certain reasons, begins to produce growth hormone in inadequate quantities, which is why the growth of the human body occurs after how the processes of natural growth stopped when he reached adulthood. Normally, the hormone is responsible for several factors:
- for the growth and development of tissues and organs in children;
- for the control of metabolic processes in adults.
Causes, symptoms and course of the disease
Acromegaly develops in adults. Children and adolescents can also develop a chronic increase in the production of growth hormone, but in this case we are talking about gigantism, which is characterized by excessive, relatively proportional and exceeding normal growth of bones, organs and soft tissues. Basically, growth occurs in length, while with acromegaly – more in width.
Doctors identify several likely mechanisms that create hyperfunction of the pituitary gland with subsequent acromegaly:
- dysregulation of hormone production at the level of the hypothalamus itself or the parts of the central nervous system located above, as a result of which there is an excessive release of somatoliberin, or the secretion of somatostatin decreases;
- the formation of a tumor process in the structure of the pituitary gland, accompanied by a violation of the control of the hypothalamus, hypersecretion of growth hormone;
- increased secretion and release of somatomedins, which directly affect the growth of the musculoskeletal system.
The most common cause of acromegaly is the development of a pituitary adenoma, which autonomously produces growth hormone. At the same time, the patient is diagnosed with a macroadenoma, tumors from somatotrophs of the adenohypophysis.
It should be noted that pregnancy and its interruption of a non-physiological nature are factors that provoke somatotropic function, which is why it is believed that the disease is more characteristic of women. Acromegaly occurs in 1-3 cases per 4 million people.
The clinical manifestations of the disease are, first of all, an increase in the size of the feet, hands, a violation of carbohydrate metabolism, in women – menstrual irregularities, a change in appearance.
The affected person may develop a state of intracranial hypertension, that is, an increase in intracranial pressure, or compression of the diaphragm of the Turkish saddle due to a growing tumor. Symptoms are accompanied by pain in the head, and the pain syndrome is so intense that it drives the person into a frenzy.
An increase in the size of the foot, hand and entire body makes a person often change clothes, shoes, gloves.
Changing the size of the lower jaw leads to deformation of the bite. The tongue also increases, constantly rests against the teeth, so its prints are constantly present on it.
In addition, the patient is constantly faced with excessive sweating, as he has an increased activity of the sweat glands.
In the initial stages, an increase in muscle tissue and internal organs in the affected person is difficult to notice, especially when it comes to athletes, since they have a slightly increased endurance and an increase in muscle mass is observed. However, after some time, degeneration of muscle fibers occurs due to the proliferation of connective tissues, and the patient has increasing muscle weakness, decreased ability to work.
Against the background of impaired blood supply, heart and pulmonary insufficiency is formed, which can lead to death.
In addition, over time, the disease becomes the cause of the apnea syndrome, since the tissues of the upper respiratory tract also undergo growth, and the respiratory centers are damaged.
Coarseness of facial features is a characteristic feature of a specific disease that has an endocrine nature – acromegaly, so its diagnostic value is undeniable. People with similar symptoms urgently need to visit an endocrinologist, because this ailment can not only complicate the life of the affected person, but also causes the death of the patient.