Do you know this guy? Well you might seen him in some
channels in television before. Well if not, I want you to meet Andre Rene Roussimoff commonly known as “Andre’ the Giant” or "The Gentle Giant". He was very famous, well, for his size and
strength. That’s why he won a lot of fights and made a big name in WWWF (World
Wide Wrestling Federation).
But
have you ever wonder why this guy is SO big? (FYI: At the age of 17, he was already
6 feet and 7 inches and became bigger as time goes by). Some critics even told
him that he was so lucky to have that built specially that he was in the field
of wrestling. That due to his enormous
built, he could even lift 4 adults at the same time! And he could throw his
opponent effortlessly.
Well,
he may have “supernatural” body and strength. But what’s more intriguing is the
REASON why he has this characteristics. Could you believe that his “powers” is
primarily caused by a clinical condition?! Yes folks… super “macho” figure was
all because of his condition. Ironic isn’t? He was sick and yet he was so
powerful. This condition is called Cushing’s syndrome (in Andre’s case, he has
acromegaly or Giantism and Cushing’s syndrome at the same time).
Now, what is Cushing’s syndrome? It is actually the
condition wherein your body is producing TOO MUCH hormone (specifically plasma
and urine hormone). This may due to 2 reasons: (1) there’s abnormal production
of cortisol due to EXTREME growth and activity of pituitary gland or, (2)
there’s abnormal production of cortisol due to tumor that causes too much
synthesis of cortisol or ACTH.
This
causes Andre’s big figure. The imbalance hormones made him to continue growing
his whole life. But unfortunately, his condition continued to wear down his
life. Since he has enormous body built, meaning his heart has to pump more to
sustain the flow of blood into his body and this is too much for his heart.
That’s why died in the year 1993.
Cushing’s
syndrome was first described by Dr. Harvey Cushing (also known as Father of
Modern Neurosurgery) in early 1930’s. And
nowadays, there are some tests that could diagnose this condition. The one of
these tests is the DST (or Dexamethasone Suppression Test). From the word
itself, SUPPRESSION test. Meaning, the doctor will administer a high-dose of
dexamethasone to inhibit the normal ACTH output of the pituitary gland. This
dexamethasone is a laboratory-made steroid that can act as cortisol that can
stop the pituitary. This test is actually very effective in determining the
“main cause” of too much cortisol production.
On the other hand......
There's a condition called Addison's disease. This Addison’s disease is the counter-part of Cushing’s syndrome.
If the Cushing’s syndrome is characterized by TOO MUCH increase of cortisol
hormone, the Addison’s disease is characterized by TOO MUCH decrease of
cortisol.
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This granny (picture above) shows the general physical
characteristics of a person who has Addison’s disease. Fatigue, low blood
pressure, weight loss, changes in distribution of hair, etc.
But
here’s a trivia… do you know JFK? Yes, as in United States President John F.
Kennedy. Mr. JFK was one of the best-known Addison’s sufferers. His condition
was publicly announced right after election in 1960. Fortunately, he survived
from this diseaseJ.
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Actually,
the primary cause of Addison’s disease is due to adrenal damage caused by many
processes in our body (either autoimmune or due to other external factors).
This tissue damage may lead to gland’s impairment to produce or manufacture
steroids. And since cortisol is reduced, there’s less feedback control on the
pituitary, that also results in increased amount of plasma ACTH for those who
have Addison’s disease.
Nowadays,
clinical laboratories used to determine the plasma cortisol values, urine free
cortisol, and 17-hydroxycorticosteroid levels to diagnose this disease. In this
case, all these components are markedly decrease in Addison’s.
REFERENCES:
Calbreath, Donald F., Clinical Chemistry: A Fundamental
Textbook. Philadelphia, PA. 1998
