Let's talk science on Adam Rainer - growth from 4'11 to over 6ft tall after 21

So, initially, I didn't believe this to be true. It has to be a hoax (or poorly documented story) that somehow got spread into enough scientific literature to be repeated as fact, even on modern Wikipedia.

Here's the summary:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Rainer

Quote[...] in 1918, at age 19, he was measured at 111.5 cm (3 ft 7.9 in). A typical defining characteristic of dwarfism is an adult height below 147 cm (4 ft 10 in). Then, likely as a result of a pituitary tumor, he had a dramatic growth spurt so that by 1932 at the age of 33 he had reached a height of 218 cm (7 ft 2 in). [...]

Overall, it seems completely unbelievable, and no scientific explanation is offered for such an occurrence. The epiphyseal plates of human legs almost universally close by 16. The literature on the end of spinal growth is still uncertain, but the average seems to be 25 years of age (source).

However, at least one notable person has repeated this story in recent times:

https://www.businessinsider.com/adam-rainer-was-both-a-dwarf-and-a-giant-2015-1

Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindsey_Fitzharris
• https://twitter.com/drlindseyfitz

Quote[...] At the age of 21, all this changed. [...] Over the next decade, he grew from just under 4'10'' to a shocking 7'1''. During this period, Rainer also began developing a severe spinal curvature. [...]

Still, nothing matches up. Surely this is an anecdote from times of poor scientific documentation. What condition could cause a man to grow from 4'10 to 7 feet when the main epiphyseal plates responsible for significant growth are already closed? Why no other such case has appeared in scientific literature since then? Pituitary gland tumours aren't extremely rare.

Can anyone with a scientific and/or medical background offer some insight into this matter?

Adam Rainer, supposedly the person on the left.

Maybe the tumor suppressed the release of other hormones like HGH, Testosterone, etc and prevented him from growing "normally" until it reached a certain size where if pushed on the gland at a different "angle" and suddenly caused a rapid release of those hormones!

Another theory is he had an extremely rare genetic mutation that caused his biological development to follow a different growth pattern entirely. Just like now there is a woman who is alive who is about 27 years old but still has the full physiology and development of a baby.

Also, could've just been a hoax to help get more attention, better medical treatment, or to stir up up publicity to help pay for medical costs.

The most important and interesting question is, what happen to his growth plates in early 20s

Found this:

QuoteF. Mainzer and E. Yalausis (1937) describe a case of gigantism and acromegaly in a boy of 14 following a severe fall, concussion and unconsciousness for three days.

This was followed by progressive weakness and very rapid growth, although there was no measurement until his eighteenth birthday, 180cm (6ft.), and at 22 years, 224cm (7ft6in.).

Source:
Acromegaly and Gigantism: Including a New Syndrome in Childhood - S. Leonard Simpson, M.A., M.D. (Cantab.), F.R.C.P. (Lond.)


A case in literature of a non-dwarf growing 44cms between the ages of 18 and 22. Too bad it is all too ancient, so we can't know which (if any) of his epiphyseal plates were already closed.

Still, this is just more fodder for the argument that no one should undergo CLL until they're over 21. You can, most likely, experiment with alternate methods for growing taller until then.

Quote from: YungGud on June 17, 2019, 05:41:49 AMThe most important and interesting question is, what happen to his growth plates in early 20s

Indeed.