Brenden Adams - Pics and video of Brenden Adams, the 7-foot tall 12-year old who just wants people to see him as just like everyone else.
Brenden Adams abnormal growth rate is due to an inversion in chromosome-12, a growth gene defect that skyrocketed his growth rate.
Normal-sized at birth, Brenden grew quickly - getting all his baby teeth by four months and growing as tall as an 8-year old by the time he was 4.
In Brenden’s case, his 12th chromosomes don’t match. Experts don’t know why, but the middle of one of them broke off, flipped around and re-attached at the zygote stage of development, disrupting a critical gene that controls growth.
“This gene is functioning despite the regulation that it shouldn’t be,” said Dr. Gad Kletter, Brenden’s endocrinologist at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. “It’s over-functioning. He was predicted to be over eight foot tall.”
Kletter finally figured out how to stop Brenden Adam’s hyperactive growth gene - by inducing puberty.
“We induced puberty,” explained Kletter about the weekly shots of testosterone, “to fuse the bones and stop the growth.”
Brenden’s mom, Debbie Ezell, said he requires a team of doctors simply to stay on top of his ever-growing frame. He has oversized joints that restrict his movements, fatty tumors, and extra teeth - twelve of which were recently removed.
The good news is the Ellerton, Washington community has embraced the good-hearted youngster as one of their own.
Community fundraising helped Brenden’s family build a new home with extra high ceilings and doorways, but the gangly preteen still has a hard time folding himself into mom’s SUV.
