I heard of the case of Adam Rainer, where his apparent condition called “acromegaly” caused him to grow uncontrollably beyond adolescence. He was both a dwarf at 19 and a giant at 33. How is this possible if growth plates predetermine height?

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I’ve been wondering this for a pretty long time

In: Biology

13 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Acromegaly is due to excess growth hormone after adolescence…. Probably due to a pituitary tumour…. If the Growth hormone excess happened before adolescence it would be Gigantism…. And the deficiency would be dwarfism…
Adam was the only person recorded to be dwarf during adolescence and giant afterwards…. However acromegaly Giants are different than Gigantism Giants. Gigantism the growth is proportionate…. But in acromegaly the growth in mainly in the limbs and face ..
So, if we have to speculate…. Probably a pituitary adenoma that caused decreased production of Growth hormone or due to nutritional and environmental factors…. Caused dwarfism…. After that the changes in the same pituitary tumour or a new one after adolescence… Caused increased production causing Acromegaly. I know it sounds unlikely but possible… Maybe that’s why it’s the only recorded case… Now the time of the maturation of the growth plates can vary(epiphyseal fusion), hence an increased growth hormone can cause increase in height even after adolescence.

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