Most of these have been diagnosed as young adults, when they developed the coarsening of facial features, enlargement of hands and feet, and arthritis characteristic of the condition termed acromegaly. Therapy has included surgical removal of the area of the pituitary which is secreting the hormone, and the use of new, synthetic analogs of the hormone somatostatin, which suppress growth hormone secretion. Other Endocrine Abnormalities Rarely, adrenal enlargement, and excessive secretion of the adrenal hormone cortisol is seen in McCune-Albright syndrome. This may cause obesity of the face and trunk, weight gain, skin fragility and cessation of growth in childhood. These symptoms are called Cushing's Syndrome.
Treatment is removal of the affected adrenal glands, or use of drugs which block cortisol synthesis.
Some children with McCune-Albright syndrome have very low levels of phosphorus in the blood due to excessive losses of phosphate in the urine. This may cause bone weakening and the condition called rickets. In affected areas, normal bone is replaced by irregular masses of fibroblast cells. Regions of fibrous dysplasia are also very common in the bones that form the skull and upper jaw. If these areas begin to expand, skull and facial asymmetry may result.