Some things you might not know about rare growth disorder

Sun Ming Ming suffered from a rare growth disorder called acromegaly. How rare? Figure about three to four cases per million people per year.

A benign brain tumor attached to his pituitary gland was reducing his testosterone production while overproducing his growth hormone.

These hormones can increase the normal metabolic rate by as much as 20 percent. Simply, the long bones become excessively long.

Surgeries to remove the tumor, which could have been fatal if left there, took place in 2005 after a successful fund-raising campaign.

Some of the symptoms include:

* Soft tissue swelling of the hands and feet;

* Brow and lower-jaw protrusion ;

* Enlarging hands and feet;

* Arthritis and carpal-tunnel syndrome;

* Teeth-spacing increase;

* An enlarged tongue;

* Heart failure;

* Compression of the optic chiasm leading to loss of vision in the outer visual fields.

The surgery doesn't necessarily end the problem. Patients need to be monitored for years to make sure that the condition doesn't return. Any additional treatment usually can be handled with medications, according to several Web sites.

Among other celebrities who have suffered from the same disorder: actor Richard Kiel (Jaws in the James Bond movies); actor Carel Struycken (better known as Lurch in the "Addams Family" movies); the late actor and West Chester native Matthew McGrory (listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest feet - size 29 1/2); wrestler and actor André the Giant, who chose not to be treated and died at the age of 46; and 7-7 Gheorghe Muresan, who joins Manute Bol as the tallest players ever in the NBA. *

- Paul Vigna