{"id":54482,"date":"2013-11-28T14:19:10","date_gmt":"2013-11-28T10:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/?p=54482"},"modified":"2013-11-28T14:20:34","modified_gmt":"2013-11-28T10:20:34","slug":"the-6ft-10ins-teenager-who-can-grow-two-inches-in-two-weeks-because-of-rare-disorder-and-hes-still-growing-read-more-httpwww-dailymail-co-ukhealtharticle-2514288the-6ft-10ins-teenager-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/en\/?p=54482","title":{"rendered":"The 6ft 10ins teenager who can grow two inches in two WEEKS because of rare disorder (and he’s STILL growing)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"article-2514288-19AC870600000578-451_634x989\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A teenager suffers from a bizarre ‘growth spurt’ condition which means he can grow up to two inches in just two weeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Josh Gott\u2019s condition is so rare that it doesn’t even have a name\u00a0<\/span>and his mother fears her giant son will only get bigger and bigger.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 18-year-old is thought to be the only person in the world to suffer from a\u00a0<\/span>bizarre disease which causes dramatic and sudden spurts of growth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Josh is currently 6ft 10in, despite his mother Sharon<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Elston<\/span>\u00a0being just 5ft and\u00a0<\/span>his father only 5ft 4in.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ms Elston, 44, has\u00a0<\/span>spent years trying to find out what is wrong with her son.<\/span><\/p>\n

She has now been told by scientists in Newcastle that Josh has a\u00a0<\/span>chromosomal disorder – but it’s so rare that little is known about it. There is no cure.<\/span><\/p>\n

It causes Josh, of Stockton-on-Tees, to have rapid spurts of growth – which\u00a0<\/span>normally last around two weeks and can see his height rise by as much as two\u00a0<\/span>inches.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ms Elston<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>said: ‘It is a nightmare – I can\u2019t get clothes to fit him. I’m<\/span>\u00a0having to look online and am thinking about ordering trousers from America.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘I don\u2019t know where it will stop. Josh is forever banging his head on door\u00a0<\/span>frames and has trouble going down the stairs.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘People stare at us. We are an odd sight, as I am so short, and he is so tall.\u00a0<\/span>People don\u2019t understand what is wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘He’s not going to stop growing. He once grew two inches in two weeks.’<\/span><\/p>\n

She first noticed there was something wrong with Josh\u2019s growth when he was\u00a0<\/span>about 11 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said: ‘He was just shooting up. I didn’t understand it.<\/span>\u00a0I went to the doctors dozens of times, but they told me it was just his age,\u00a0<\/span>and that it was normal.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘But I knew different, instinct told me there was a problem. He was the tallest\u00a0<\/span>boy in his class, and me and his dad are both so short.’<\/span><\/p>\n

After years of speaking to doctors, Josh\u2019s case was finally referred to leading\u00a0<\/span>research scientists at Newcastle\u2019s Centre for Life and a definitive diagnosis\u00a0<\/span>was delivered about 18 months ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Josh has a small deletion on one of his chromosomes which involves three genes.<\/div>\n

One of these genes is the main antagonist (or threat) to the growth hormone.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is different disorder from Gigantism, whose sufferers over produce the\u00a0<\/span>hormone.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a letter written by Consultant Clinical Geneticist Doctor Miranda Splitt to\u00a0<\/span>Josh\u2019s doctor she said: ‘There are a few other patients who are known to have a\u00a0<\/span>deletion of the three genes but all of them have a much larger deletion\u00a0<\/span>involving many more genes.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘I have asked for more information about the patients with overlapping deletion\u00a0<\/span>to see whether any of them have very tall stature but have so far had not had\u00a0<\/span>any replies from the clinicians involved.’<\/span><\/p>\n

Josh’s mother was told researchers had contacted colleagues across the world, but\u00a0<\/span>no-one else had seen a chromosome disorder that mirrors her son\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said: ‘This new information means very little to Josh, but to me it means a\u00a0<\/span>lot.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘I have always said, “there\u2019s something else”, but now I would like it do him\u00a0<\/span>some good, I don\u2019t want it just to be interesting research.’<\/span><\/p>\n

Josh has also suffered from a number of other serious problems throughout his\u00a0<\/span>life, including brain damage, epilepsy, scoliosis (curvature of the spine),\u00a0<\/span>Perthes (a hip growth disorder), autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity\u00a0<\/span>Disorder.<\/span><\/p>\n

But\u00a0<\/span>Ms Elston<\/span>, who works transporting children with various mental and physical\u00a0<\/span>disabilities to school, says she always knew there was something undiagnosed\u00a0<\/span>which could be crucial for Josh\u2019s welfare.<\/span><\/p>\n

Around two-and-a-half years ago she refused to leave the University Hospital\u00a0<\/span>of North Tees until a doctor took the problem seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said: ‘I told the doctor my height, and Josh\u2019s dad\u2019s height, and I insisted\u00a0<\/span>that something was done. I said I would not leave unless it was. I was\u00a0<\/span>determined.’<\/span><\/p>\n

It was then that the case was finally referred to the Centre for Life.<\/span><\/p>\n

She added:\u00a0<\/span>‘<\/span>I\u00a0<\/span>just hope something can be done to stop him from growing. I dread him\u00a0<\/span>getting taller.’<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A teenager suffers from a bizarre ‘growth spurt’ condition which means he can grow up…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[146,224,137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","hentry","category-europe","category-news","category-world","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54482\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}