What You Didn't Know About Dwarfism
His name in Sanskrit means king of birds, and for Nepalese teenager, Khagendra Thapa Magar, the name might be oddly appropriate. Magar, who turned 18 on October 14th, entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the shortest adult in the world. He currently stands at 26 inches and weighs 14.3 lbs, closer in height and weight to a toddler than an adult.
This recent glut of media attention has many people wondering about dwarfism: what causes it? Could normal statured adults have short statured children?
Here're some things we'll bet you didn't know:
Technical Term: Dwarfism has many forms. The most common one, which accounts for 70% of all cases, is called achondroplasia.
Dwarf, midget, what's the difference: Dwarf, midget, or person of short stature? What's the correct term to use? A dwarf is said to be a person of short stature, i.e. less than 4 ft. 10 in. in height.
While "dwarf" refers to a person with disproportionate limbs and torso size, "midget" refers to someone who is proportionately small. Midget, however, is considered an offensive term. In fact, Little People of America protested loud and strong when the word was bandied about last year on Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice. Maybe the best solution is to treat each person as an individual and not by their physical characteristics?
Does it have to do with poor health? According to KidsHealth.org, any one of 200 conditions may be the cause of dwarfism. Sometimes, a mutation in an egg or sperm before conception may result in conditions that cause dwarfism. A child may inherit also genes from either parent. Sometimes the short stature might be a by-product of hormonal disorders.
Where mutations are involved, average size people could go on to have children with short stature. The opposite is also true - two people of short stature could have children who grow up to be of average size.
Can it be cured? Some kinds of dwarfism can be diagnosed soon after the child is born. Some, especially those caused by hormonal and metabolic imbalances, may not be obvious till the child is about 5 or 6.
If the short stature is caused by hormones or has metabolic origins, hormone therapy or special diets might help trigger growth. But when the dwarfism has genetic origins, it cannot be cured.
Other health complications: People of short stature may also be affected by ear problems. Hearing loss is often reported. Breathing problems, tendency to gain weight, spinal curvature and bow-leggedness are also often seen in people of short height. Medical intervention, including preventive surgery, can help with most of these conditions.
People who suffer from achondroplasia have normal life expectancies, and can lead fulfilling, productive lives.
*Images courtesy of Stock.xchng
