Present-day famous “giants” include André René Roussimoff, known as Andre the Giant (224cm), and Richard Kiel (218cm), otherwise known as Jaws in two James Bond movies. Another real-life giant was Robert Wadlow, also known as the Alton giant.
Acromegaly is a rare endocrine disease made famous by people including pro wrestler Andre the Giant, actor Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster), and actor Ted Cassidy (Lurch from “The Addams Family”).
When left untreated or uncontrolled, some individuals suffering from gigantism have grown in excess of eight feet (2.43 m) tall. The most famous example is that of Robert Wadlow, the tallest person in history at 8ft 11 in tall (2.71 m). Gigantism is very similar to acromegaly.
In humans, this condition is caused by over-production of growth hormone in childhood, resulting in people up to 2.7 m (9.0 ft) in height. It is a rare disorder resulting from increased levels of growth hormone before the fusion of the growth plate which usually occurs at some point soon after puberty.
Answer and Explanation: To be formally diagnosed with gigantism, a person generally must be over 7 feet tall. The tallest person ever officially recorded was Robert Wadlow (1918-1940), a man from Illinois who reached 8 feet and 11.1 inches in height.
While there is no set standard to describe giant breed, the term is generally applied to breeds expected to weigh 100 lb (45 kg) or more as adults.
Early diagnosis and treatment of gigantism are crucial to prevent excessive height and associated complications and improve life expectancy. If gigantism is left untreated, it's associated with significant complications and an increased death rate of around twice the normal average.
Children with gigantism can lead a normal life. If they are treated successfully, they will not get most of the serious complications. However, children with gigantism can still have symptoms such as muscle weakness.
Over time, this leads to abnormally large hands and feet, and a wide range of other symptoms. Acromegaly is usually diagnosed in adults aged 30 to 50, but it can affect people of any age. When it develops before the end of puberty, it's known as "gigantism".
In children, the condition is called gigantism. In adults, it is called acromegaly. Excessive growth hormone is almost always caused by a noncancerous (benign) pituitary tumor.
Active acromegaly is a rare chronic endocrine disorder caused by excessive growth hormone (GH). Clinical studies suggest that cognitive performance is impaired in acromegaly – particularly executive function as well as short- and long-term memory.
Gigantism is a form of familial pituitary adenomas, and may run in some families due to a genetic mutation. Gigantism can also be associated with other conditions, including: Carney complex.
Symptoms of acromegaly include an enlarged face and hands. Changes to the face may cause the brow bone and lower jawbone to protrude, and the nose and lips to get larger. Acromegaly is a hormonal disorder that develops when your pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone during adulthood.
The tumour may also be large enough to cause visual field loss from pressure on the nerves to the eyes. People with gigantism and acromegaly are two to three times more at risk of premature death than the general population. But life expectancy is restored when the disease is adequately treated.
For individuals with acromegaly, the mortality rate is 2-3 times that of the general population, with cardiovascular and respiratory complications being the most frequent causes of death.
Wadlow's height was 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) while his weight reached 439 lb (199 kg) at his death at age 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone (HGH).
Once a person has been through puberty, the growth plates stop making new bone. They fuse together, and the person stops growing. This means that when an individual reaches adulthood, they are not able to increase their height.
Infants with cerebral gigantism showed a consistent pattern of psychomotor delay. Preschool age children demonstrated signs of a primary language disorder, and school-age patients had learning disabilities. The incidence of mental retardation was significantly lower than previously reported in the literature.
Meaning the taller you are, obviously the more you weigh in comparison to your tiny friends! Due to generally having bigger organs, and bigger bones than shorter individuals, tall people tend to have a greater lean mass.
The land of giants. It sounds like something from a fairy tale, but it arguably exists in a region of Northern Ireland where a cluster of people with a genetic predisposition grow abnormally tall.
The pituitary gland is a structure in our brain that produces different types of specialised hormones, including growth hormone (also referred to as human growth hormone or HGH). The roles of growth hormone include influencing our height, and helping build our bones and muscles.