Patient Perspective: Acromegaly
Andre the Giant (born Andres Roussimoff) built his successful wrestling and acting career living with acromegaly. Already 6'7" at age 17, Andre began wrestling as the "Monster Eiffel Tower" in France. His enormous size, eventually 7'4" and 500 pounds, jolted Andre to the top of the wrestling world, with fans dubbing him "The Eighth Wonder of the World."
Though he became an international icon as one of the World Wrestling Federation's toughest wrestlers, Andre preferred to think of himself as a "gentle giant," like his character, Fezzik, in The Princess Bride. Shortly after his death in 1993 due to the effects of acromegaly, Andre the Giant was the first wrestler ever inducted into the WWF/WWE Hall of Fame.63
Today, acromegaly is treatable with surgery, radiation, and medicines, which can help normalize levels of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the bloodstream. There are three drugs available among three different classes to treat the condition.64
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Endnotes:
63 Andre R. Roussimoff Testamentary Trust, "Biography," Andre the Giant, http://www.andrethegiant.com/bio.html (accessed 4 October 2005).
64 eMedicine.com, Inc., "Acromegaly: Acromegaly Treatment," eMedicine Consumer Health, http://www.emedicinehealth.com/articles/38312-6.asp (accessed 4 October 2005).
