The Irish giant: new observations concerning the nature of his ailment

The Evolution of Pituitary Gland Surgery from the Ancients to the Millennials

Located at the base of the skull, the pituitary gland has a long and controversial history, not only in terms of its anatomy, but especially in the functions it performs and in the attempt to approach it surgically. Considered by Galen of Pergamon to have a role in releasing waste products of the brain, a theory accepted until the 17th century, the pituitary gland became a separate entity once with the anatomical descriptions of the famous Andreas Vesalius. At the beginning of the 18th century, researches of the time began to be more and more interested in this gland, trying to identify its functions, and at the same time correcting the traditional theories that were wrong or incomplete. Later, they turned their attention to experimental animal studies that represented the germinal nucleus for the transcranial and endoscopic pituitary surgery. In this review, an attempt has been made to record the entire history of anatomy, physiology and surgery of the pituitary gland, from antiquity to the current day's surgical techniques.

A legendary sumo wrestler with gigantism or acromegaly? The case of Ikezuki Geitazaemon (1827-1850)

Sumo is a traditional Japanese full-contact wrestling sport. Among sumo wrestlers, Ikezuki Geitazaemon (1827-1850) was one of the most famous wrestlers due to his large body size. Here, we hypothesize that the legendary Japanese sumo wrestler could have had gigantism or acromegaly, which are disorders caused by the hypersecretion of growth hormone (GH). GH-secreting pituitary adenoma leads to the hypersecretion of GH and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). If GH-secreting pituitary adenoma develops during childhood/puberty, it can cause gigantism. Adenomas also occur in over 95% of patients with acromegaly. Based on his substantial height (227 cm), Geitazaemon may have had gigantism, or acromegaly considering his characteristics of mandibular prognathism, enlarged fingertips, and heel pad thickness, as shown in woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). He would thus be the first recorded patient with gigantism or acromegaly in premodern Japan.

Acromegalic gigantism, physicians and body snatching. Past or present?

The skeletons of 2 famous acromegalic giants: Charles Byrne (1761-1783) and Henri Cot = Joseph Dusorc (1883-1912) and the embalmed body of the famous acromegalic giant Édouard Beaupré (1881-1904) all ended up in the medical collections of museums despite the fact that these patients had never donated or even refused to donate their corpses, nor had their relatives given permission. The corpse of the acromegalic giant John Aasen (1890-1938) was voluntarily donated to a physician annex collector of trivia from acromegalic giants. The autopsy on the acromegalic giant John Turner (1874-1911) was performed during his funeral ceremony without the relatives being informed. Only recently, the acromegalic giant Alexander Sizonenko (1959-2012) was made a financial offer during his life in exchange for his body after his death. The case-histories of these 6 patients and also the circumstances that led to the (in-) voluntary donation of their bodies are reviewed.

AIP mutation in pituitary adenomas in the 18th century and today

Gigantism results when a growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma is present before epiphyseal fusion. In 1909, when Harvey Cushing examined the skeleton of an Irish patient who lived from 1761 to 1783, he noted an enlarged pituitary fossa. We extracted DNA from the patient's teeth and identified a germline mutation in the aryl hydrocarbon-interacting protein gene (AIP). Four contemporary Northern Irish families who presented with gigantism, acromegaly, or prolactinoma have the same mutation and haplotype associated with the mutated gene. Using coalescent theory, we infer that these persons share a common ancestor who lived about 57 to 66 generations earlier.

The pituitary gland: a brief history

The functions of the pituitary gland as an important constituent of the endocrine system were not understood until the latter part of the nineteenth century and the first half of the 20th century. At one time, the pituitary was deemed to be the "leader of the endocrine orchestra," but more recent studies have shown that its secretions are influenced by external stimuli and that it is largely under the control of the hypothalamus.

Cushing's syndrome: historical aspects

A brief overview of the most important steps leading to our present knowledge of hypercorticism is given. The adrenals were described in 1563 and the pituitary had been known since Antiquity. Until Addison's description of adrenal insufficiency in 1855 virtually nothing was known of their function. Cushing in 1912 described his famous patient with hypercorticism but assumed it to be a polyglandular disorder. For almost 40 years the etiology was disputed, though Bauer early had postulated that hypercorticism ultimately reflected adrenal hyperfunction, either primarily or secondarily. Though Krause, Schloffer, Cushing, Hirsch and others early in the 20th century had introduced pituitary surgery, it was not until 1933 that the first patient with Cushing's disease had neurosurgery performed. This therapy did not gain wide acceptance until Gidot & Thibaut and Hardy pioneered transsphenoidal surgery. Adrenal surgery was for many years the treatment of hypercorticism but prior to the availability of glucocorticosteroids substitution an extremely perilous undertaking.

Evaluation of a human diploid cell strain rabies vaccine: final report of a three year study of pre-exposure immunization

The antibody responses of 194 volunteers were studied for up to 3 years after primary immunization with one, two or three doses of human diploid cell rabies vaccine, administered either in 0.1 ml volumes intradermally (i.d.) or as 1.0 ml intramuscularly (i.m.). Sero-conversion occurred in 95% of subjects after the first injection and in 100% after the second. The highest titres and most durable antibody responses were induced by three injections of vaccine. Booster doses were administered either by the subcutaneous (s.c.) or i.d. route, after 6, 12 or 24 months to randomly grouped volunteers; these induced responses greater than or equal to 5.0 i.u. per ml in 95% of subjects. The responses were rapid and were neither influenced by the primary regimen nor by the timing and route of the booster dose. Antibody titres after i.d. immunization were only two-fold lower than those induced by the larger volume of vaccine. The findings suggest that the i.d. route is both effective and economic.