new thread
With all the debate lately about hair length, mainly in terms of how far down one's body it goes, there has been little (if any) mention of one point that seems obvious to me:
Given the same (long) hair length, a shorter person's hair will go further down their body -- and thus appear longer -- than that of a taller person.
Consider two people, one 6'4" tall, the other 4'11", each with the very same long hair length. Viewed separately, which will give the subjective impression of having longer hair?
Which brings me to my question:
What about dwarves? Does the average dwarf's hair grow at about the same rate, and have about the same lifespan, (and thus have about the same terminal length), as the average non-dwarf?
According to Encarta 98, dwarves are defined as shorter than 50", and some are less than 2' tall. If a 3' tall dwarf grew his hair to terminal length, would it be likely to reach the ground?
Just curious. God, I hope "Oh Please" doesn't weigh in on this one. :-)
8-)
Greg
For some reason I've never considered Little People with long hair before. My bet, though, is that it depends upon which form of dwarfism they have. There was a girl in my high school class who had a normal head and torso. Only her arms and legs were very short. Her hair seemed completely normal. That's all I can vouch for personally, and I have done no reading on the subject.
I am a Pediatric Endocrinologist (who, by the way, happens to wear his hair high- to mid-back length), and this question actual falls into my area of practice. There are some syndromes which have include short stature that also are associated with abnormalities in hair growth. However, in most situations (including achondroplasia--in which legs and arms are short, but torso is normal) hair growth is normal. One very interesting observation is that children who have growth hormone deficiency (which causes proportional short stature) have very slow hair growth. When they begin growth hormone replacement, one of the effects they frequently comment about (in addition to getting taller) is that their hair is growing faster. This observation does not suggest that growth hormone administration would necessarily increase hair growth rate in a person with normal growth hormone secretion; rather, it is correcting the hair's growth rate by replacing a missing hormone. People with thyroid hormone deficiency or thyroid hormone excess also experience changes in their hair.
By the way, in our clinical practice we tend to avoid using the terms "dwarf" and "midget' because they seem to have pejorative connotations, althought the term "dwarfism" still appears in textbooks.
Interesting post. I just did a little web research and found out something interesting. Many of you are familiar with progeria. This is a genetic condition in which the person ages prematurely, looking in many ways like an old person as a teen ager. These people have most of the hallmarks of old age, except for a near normal skull development. This includes hair evolution. There is premature thinning and balding. OK. Here is the interesting part that I just found out. According to Dr. Janson, and corroborated by other experts, the film widely circulated as an autopsy film of a crashed alien is, in fact, a person with progeria. All the specific features mentioned, indicating the patient being autopsied was an alien, including apparent lack of a navel, are explained by progeria.
I frequently listed to Dr. Dean Edell on the radio. One of the things he frequently mentions is that it is too frequent a practice to give hormone therapy to children these days simply because they fall into a low percentile in terms of stature. He goes on to say that hormone therapy is indicated only for those with hormone deficiency, and that a battery of tests should be performed to determine if there is indeed hormone deficiency.
Your comment about hair naturally suggests the question about whether stunted hair growth can be used as and indication of hormone deficiency. Conversely, if a parent has a short child, and his/her hair growth is normal, would this be a contraindication for hormone therapy?
Thanks for confirming my choice of words in my other post. I use the term "little people" because I've heard that is what is preferred. The term "drarf" I usually associate with fairy tales, especially The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkein, where dwarfs are actually a separate civilization.
Actually, slow hair growth can suggest GH deficiency, but like a lot of observations, we don't always notice them until there is a fairly rapid change. What parents often tell me is that they just thought the slow pre-treatment rate of hair growth was normal for their child, and they are astonished when it speeds up with GH replacement therapy.
Your comments about growth hormone deficiency are right on the mark in terms of tending to treat without always having a perfect diagnosis. It is compounded by our lack reliable laboratory tests that absolutely define this deficiency (there are tests, but they are far from perfect). Those children who benefit the most are the true GH deficient children, although there appear to be clear benefits for other extremely short children, as well. In trying to help families and the health professionals involved make a decision about whether or not to treat, we try to look at the whole picture--the growth rate, other clues, as well as lab data. Rate of hair growth is indeed one of those clues.
I actually have more than just a passing interest in this subject. I have two daughters, ages 9 and 11. The 9 year old is actually the taller of the two. For years they were identical in stature. It turns out that the young one also has the longer hair. However, before anyone is quick to jump to conclusions, this is because her mother decided early on that she looked better with short hair. Now she is growing it out, and it is down to her waist.