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Courtesy of Ronan McCloskey
Brendan Holland and Dr. Marta Korbonits view the skeleton of Charles Byrne, known as "The Irish Giant." Holland, who is 6 feet 9 inches tall, is genetically related to Byrne. The 7-foot-7-inch 18th century street performer is the subject of the upcoming documentary to be shown on BBC2.
Cari Nierenberg writes: Brendan Holland recently got some huge news about his family medical tree.
Holland, who's in his late 50s and lives in Dungannon, Ireland, found out through his participation in a research study that he "was genetically related to the Irish Giant."
The Irish Giant, whose real name was Charles Byrne, came to London in 1782 from Northern Ireland to make a living off his towering height as a street show performer. Today, Byrne's 7-foot-7-inch skeleton is a medical marvel on display at The Royal College of Surgeons in London.
At 6 feet 9 inches, Holland had always been baffled by his extremely tall stature since both his parents and siblings were of average height.
When he was about 13, he started growing rapidly, about 2 inches a year, he recalled. “I was constantly tired, had tremendous headaches, and was developing tunnel vision."
Holland's doctor discovered he had a tumor on his pituitary gland that was causing his body to pump out too much growth hormone. After the tumor, a pituitary adenoma, was found and treated when he was 20, he stopped growing.
Eventually, Holland learned he lives in an area of Northern Ireland that scientists consider a hot spot for pituitary adenomas.
In a study published in today's New England Journal of Medicine, scientists in the United Kingdom looked at four modern-day Northern Ireland families, including Holland’s, and noticed the same genetic mutation in these families as they found in the 18th-century Irish Giant.
Using DNA extracted from Charles Byrne's teeth, the researchers speculate that they could trace the roots of the Irish study participants and the Irish Giant's inherited gene mutation for gigantism to a common ancestor who lived an estimated 1425 to 1650 years earlier -- or 57 to 66 generations ago.
The findings have a additional meaning to Holland because he has two sons. "I know that my children or my grandchildren could be screened for this rogue gene and if they are sufferers (of familial isolated pituitary adenoma), they can be given early treatment.”
Dr. Marta Korbonits, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism at Barts and the London School of Medicine, who led the research team's efforts, hopes this new evidence can lead to a better understanding of pituitary adenomas.
"These people are not weirdos or freaks, but just ordinary ill people, as anybody else who inherits an increased chance to get a disease from their parents, as many of us do with other diseases, such as heart disease or diabetes," explains Korbonits.
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Being extraordinarily tall is not a medical problem. If a pituitary adenoma causes other serious problems (like tunnel visions and headaches), perhaps some treatment could be found that alleviates these problems without necessarily making the person stop growing. Have a little appreciation for human diversity, folks.
Being tall isn't a problem - having a tumor on your pituitary is. When people grow that rapidly from something like that it takes a huge toll on their body. They will have trouble walking and other parts of their body will probably be painful.
If someone is honest-to-goodness going to be that tall with no tumor or other problems, their body probably grows slower and they won't have -too- many problems. My fiance is 6'5" and does have some cracking/pain in his knees but that's about it.
Yeah it is. It's horrible for the heart and it puts a lot of strain on the skeletal structure.
I have oodles of appreciation for human diversity, but we're all within the same basic size range for a reason, and the reason is because that's what our internal mechanics can manage.
There is a poor woman in the States who has something similar to this except they cannot treat it so she has not stopped growing. Unless they can find a way to treat her tumor, she will die in the very near future. The human body is not meant for unchecked growth and as was said, the stresses involved will lead to premature death. just look at andre the giant. The poor man was nearly crippled by the time he was in The Princess Bride and passed away at 46 because his body could not handle the growth. Yes, if someone is genetically predisposed to be tall, it's not a medical problem, but when it's a tumor or overactive pituitary gland, it is a medical problem.
No telling how big this guy would have grown to if he hadn't been treated. Some people with this condition grow to an immense size and have all sorts of medical issues and frequently have trouble walking.
Some people (like me) have both a genetic predisposition to be tall (father 6'5", mother 5'9", me 6'8") and a pituitary adenoma (mine found and removed in 2004.) I don't know that you'd call it a medical problem, that I can no longer fly coach to Hawaii because the airlines have moved their seat rows closer together over the years, but it is a problem! Fortunately, being tall, I earned considerably more than my "normal"-sized cohort throughout my working life, so I can now afford first-class.
The rate of pituitary surgery for this reason is 3 per 100,000, but the occurrence of pituitary tumors (from autopsy studies) is 1 in 4, so the vast majority of pituitary adenomas are asymptomatic, and go undetected through a person's lifetime. Females tend to have secreting tumors that have primarily endocrine effects, while males' tumors tend to have mechanical effects on vision if they are symptomatic at all.
Oh yeah? Then what do you have to say about this?
From his quote, it sounds like he WAS suffering and obviously had a medical problem. He had a tumor!
actually, those suffering from extreme pituitary gigantism do have medical problems directly related to their extreme stature. the weight bearing joints, particularly the knees, are simply inadequate to the mechanical stresses they are called upon to deal with. additionally, they often have peripheral neurological and vascular problems.
robert wadlow, the tallest man ever at 8'11", required knee and ankle braces and had sensory impairment in his lower extremities. these combined to cause his death at age 22, when a skin lesion caused by an ill-fitting brace, and which he was unable to feel, lead to a fatal infection.
Being a little tall? No problem. Being really, really tall? Lots of medical problems.
Have a little less appreciation for human diversity and a lot less ignorance, Kathy.
A common ancestor that lived between 1425 and 1650 - 57 to 66 generations back? I don't think so. More like 15 to 20 generations - if that much.
Read it again - between 1425 and 1650 YEARS ago.
i think you idiots are all stupid
It's great they can find a genetic marker for these families, so they can do early detection. Robert Wadlow, the tallest man ever known to have lived, at 8" 11 1/2" he died at the age of 22. There was strain on his heart, he couldn't walk without braces, and he couldn't feel when his feet were injured because of nerves that were never meant to go that far.
Excess growth hormone (HGH) is associated with diabetes, arthritis, and everything that is related to having too much body for the organs to cope with.
There is a big difference between having genes for being tall and having genes for a pituitary tumor causing abnormal hormone secretion.
Wow. I have ancestry from Northern Ireland, and I have had a pituitary adenoma. Mine was endocrine-secreting but did not secrete growth hormone. Therefore, I did not grow tall.
YOU are stoopid. You're mean, crass, disrespectful and downright stoopid
YOU are stoopid. You're mean, crass, disrespectful and downright stoopid
Beyond the issue of human suffering, and so many who have this condition have indeed suffered, it does seem to lend credence to many oral histories of Northern Ireland and even to the name of the geological feature "The Giants Causeway". A society with an unusual proportion of giants...
I noted in the piece that was just aired on the Today Show that Charles Byrne's skeleton was displayed in a museum against his will, and by all appearances, it is still displayed! I was gobsmacked! The original decision to display this against his will was made in the 1700s, when perhaps that type of thoughtless behavior went unnoticed, but this is 2011, and we can and should behave in a more compassionate manner. Hey, Matt, Meredith, Ann, and Al, how about spending some of the money the Today Show made by airing this piece on an effort to finally bury this unfortunate man's skeleton? There is not a reason on earth it still needs to be displayed - samples could be harvested and a cast made of his skeleton for display in the museum (or perhaps his descendant, Brendan Holland, would be okay with having his own skeleton displayed after his death). It's a small thing, perhaps, but it is the right thing to do. Thanks.
my fishing buddy of 30 yrs is 6'8"s as was his gr8 uncle his dad was 6'2"s his mom 6' both big 4 some 1 raised in pre WWII my friends size causes him lots of problems when flying in finding a comfortable vehicle 2 drive ect on r many traveling fishing trips he was 1' taller lying sideways on the bed in the double room we'd rented in lots of places from yellowstone park to new zeland his health is always at risk lots of problems walking complete hip and knee replacements by age 45 heart problems circulatory problems so being big is a tough job