I don’t know about other students of this class, but before I watched National Geographic’s “The Science of Gigantism” I had no idea that gigantism was an ailment just like dwarfism. One type of gigantism is Pituitary Gigantism; this is when hormones from the pituitary gland are responsible for extreme growth. In these giants the head and appendages are all proportionate. The pituitary gland is the most important of the endocrine glands and it stimulates growth by IGF, a hormone that circulates the blood and stimulates all muscles growth. At the end of bones this hormone stimulates the production of calcium and in turn making bones longer and the person taller. One giant, Igor Vovkovinsky, from Russia is one such Giant. At 7 years old he was 6’2” and although he and his mother moved to America to find the most advanced medical technologies. He has had surgeries on his pituitary, radiation, and drug therapy. Nothing has stunted Igor’s growth. While an average grown man only needs 66lbs. of muscle mass to hold up their body, Igor needs over double at 133lbs. Today at 24 years old he is 7’8” and wears a size 25 shoe. In some Giants the reason why they never stop growing is because they never reach puberty and the hormone to stop vertical growth is never released. One giant who grew throughout his life reached 8’11”. Another type of Gigantism is Acromegolic, is when the vertical growth does eventually stop but the width growth of the bones does not stop. Even the skull continues to grow and the shape of the face changes every year. The tallest woman today with this condition is 7’7” and has 50lbs. of only bone. An average woman has 26lbs. of bone. Many problems come along with this form of gigantism including enlarged left heart ventricles with muscles too tough to fully expand and contract, weaker muscles, barrel chests caused from expanding lungs, poor circulation, and impaired nerve signals. The final type of giant is one that is developed by genes and not pituitary hormones. Some have Mass Syndrome. These people vary from proportionate to extremely lanky with disproportionate legs and arms. Scientists now wonder what the limits of human growth are. Many people are at the height that may be considered giant (check out any national basketball team), but these people are not considered giants unless the height is the result of a gene mutation.
Emily Ayotte (Group A)
8 Comments:
Weird! It's funny that you note that although some people may be at the height of giants, they are not considered as such because it has be a result of a gene mutation. Really interesting! Are there any treatments out there that stop a giant growing? I've heard of some girls who are expected to be very tall are given the option of taking hormone supplements before they hit puberty, that will eventually stunt their growth. Is this a possible option for people who are giants too or is a hormone supplement not enough to combat the gene mutation?
- Maura Mulvey
There were so many grammatical errors and no pharagraph spacing that it was hard to read. The topic however was interesting. I saw that special too and found it crazy. I had a hard time grasping the fact that people can get that large.
-Katie Cyr
Interesting article, do you know if in some cases abnormal growth, or secretion of IGF1 may be caused by tumors in the pituitary??
-Julio Rodriguez.
Cool article. I didn't know there were different types of giantism. I really want to see that special now. I wonder if there are any professional basketball players who do suffer from giantism. Also, I heard the giants have a much shorter lifespan than average humans. Is that true?
-Alex Pavidapha
Are IFH levels also responsible for making specific parts of the body extremely large? I remember hearing cases of people with one limb or body part being way out of proportion.
-Nick Cline
In some of the cases I learned about they were treated with hormones, but it only very slightly stunted their growth. And I am sorry for the errors and non spacing, when I copied it from my computer it messed it up I guess. I did have paragraphs before. And yes some types of Gigantism are caused by pituitary tumors, but as in Igor's case, even the removal of the tumor did no help him stop growing. Some Giants do pass away early because of complications such as disfigurement of their bones, but early deaths are not a direct cause of being a giant and many live to a ripe old age. I do not know if these hormones cause one limb to be larger, but it can cause different forms of disproportionate bodies. -Emily
Growing up I had a very tall neighbor friend and we always joked that she was super tall and should play basketball (and she did. In her teen years it turned out that she had a form of gigantism (the over active pitutary gland form). I think its a great you wrote an article about giants as most people are unaware of the disease!
-Rachael Carlevale
I saw a show on this it looks absolutely horrible. I feel so bad because the people with Acromegolic Gigantism could not move comfortable because of the muscles being so weak. Are they working on any solutions or something to alter the gene in any way?
Samantha DeBiasio
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