13 replies to this topic

[TianZi]

"Liam Hoekstra was hanging upside down by his feet when he performed an inverted sit-up, his shirt falling away to expose rippled abdominal muscles. It was a display of raw power one might expect to see from an Olympic gymnast.

Liam is 19 months old."

http://www.ctv.ca/se.....0strong child

Liam was born with an extremely rare condition first reported for humans (in published medical literature) in 2004: myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy.

The condition promotes above-normal growth of the skeletal muscles. He can potentially achieve 50% more muscle mass than humans born without this condition.

Just five years ago, medical literature didn't even acknowledge the possibility for a human to be born with this sort of genetic gift. People like Liam force us to re-examine the limits of what human beings are capable of achieving physically without resorting to steroids and the like.

Liam and a very small number of people like him could also "help scientists unlock the secrets of muscle growth and muscle deterioration. Research on adults who share Liam's condition could lead to new treatments for debilitating ailments such as muscular dystrophy and osteoporosis. If researchers can control how the body produces and uses myostatin, the protein could become a powerful weapon in the pharmaceutical arsenal. It also could become a hot commodity among athletes looking to gain an edge, perhaps illegally, on the competition, experts said."

As we can see from Liam's example, some humans are born gifted with the potential to have a physique that could only be achieved in others by use of drugs.

Edited by TianZi, 23 July 2008 - 09:54 AM.

[sentinel]

"Liam Hoekstra was hanging upside down by his feet when he performed an inverted sit-up, his shirt falling away to expose rippled abdominal muscles. It was a display of raw power one might expect to see from an Olympic gymnast.

Liam is 19 months old."

http://www.ctv.ca/se.....0strong child

Liam was born with an extremely rare condition first reported for humans (in published medical literature) in 2004: myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy.

The condition promotes above-normal growth of the skeletal muscles. He can potentially achieve 50% more muscle mass than humans born without this condition.

Just five years ago, medical literature didn't even acknowledge the possibility for a human to be born with this sort of genetic gift. People like Liam force us to re-examine the limits of what human beings are capable of achieving physically without resorting to steroids and the like.

Liam and a very small number of people like him could also "help scientists unlock the secrets of muscle growth and muscle deterioration. Research on adults who share Liam's condition could lead to new treatments for debilitating ailments such as muscular dystrophy and osteoporosis. If researchers can control how the body produces and uses myostatin, the protein could become a powerful weapon in the pharmaceutical arsenal. It also could become a hot commodity among athletes looking to gain an edge, perhaps illegally, on the competition, experts said."

As we can see from Liam's example, some humans are born gifted with the potential to have a physique that could only be achieved in others by use of drugs.

Why it could even go un-noticed for as much as 51 years I pity that boy's skeleton...

[VictorBjoerk]

There must be some horrible side-effects to this "genetic luck"

[TianZi]

1. " I pity that boy's skeleton..."

Why?


2.

There must be some horrible side-effects to this "genetic luck"

Per the article I linked in the OP:

"The condition promotes above-normal growth of the skeletal muscles; it doesn't affect the heart and has no known negative side effects, according to experts."

The only recognized drawback is that achieving healthy levels of body fat can be difficult for an infant with this condition. The article did mention a number of ailments Liam suffered from when first adopted, which may or may not have been related to his condition. His birth mother was apparently a "troubled woman" who gave him up for adoption. Liam is fortunate to have been adopted by a family of apparently substantial financial means. It's likely his living environment has been tremendously improved since adoption. Apparently, Liam no longer suffers from these ailments today.

Of course, the condition has only been recognized for a period of 4 years, and the first extensive study of the condition using 100 volunteers is only now underway, so there's an awful lot we don't know about it.

Edited by TianZi, 23 July 2008 - 04:21 PM.

[TianZi]

Link to a report published by two researchers at Johns Hopkins regarding this condition:

http://www.ncbi.nlm....f...e&part=mstn

[Shepard]

There are other examples of kids born wih myostatin mutations:

http://en.wikipedia....Richard_Sandrak
http://www.chinadail...tent_342496.htm

Edited by shepard, 23 July 2008 - 06:12 PM.

[TianZi]

There are other examples of kids born wih myostatin mutations:

http://en.wikipedia....Richard_Sandrak
http://www.chinadail...tent_342496.htm

The first I heard about was a German boy a few years back. It would be interesting to see how he is today.

EDIT: After reviewing those links of yours, I saw that the excellent China Daily article specifically discussed the German toddler I mentioned. I found especially interesting the musing by a leading expert on this condition that research into it could, among other things, lead to future anti-aging interventions (stalling or reversing muscle wasting in the elderly)

The wiki stub does not mention that Richard Sandrak has this condition, but this is not surprising since he was born in 1992, and the first medical literature on this condition in humans wasn't published until 2004. Sandrak certainly fits the profile to a "T". The "Criticism" section of the stub mentions frequent allegations that Sandrak's father "must" have been feeding him anabolic steroids, as otherwise his level of muscular development at such an early age was "impossible". Now we know that isn't true. Shame his family had to endure such (probably) false accusations.

Edited by TianZi, 23 July 2008 - 06:27 PM.

[kismet]

I've never seen his "iron cross", only one pic that resembled an iron cross, but was very far from being a correct iron cross. I am not sure you are aware of the difficulty level of that exercise. It requires incredible max. strength, which is a neurological thing, not simple muscle hypertrophy or "brute strength". Thus it takes a lot of time to achieve, I say extremely unlikely.
BTW do you even know what strain that exercise puts on the bones, joints, tendons? Can an infant really withstand such force?
 
Muscle wasting in the elderly does not seem to be mediated by myostatin, rather a sedentary liefstyle, low T-levels and general atrophy as a result of intrinsic aging.
I don't know how the failure of Wyeth's Myastatin antibody fits all those good news.

The wiki stub does not mention that Richard Sandrak has this condition, but this is not surprising since he was born in 1992, and the first medical literature on this condition in humans wasn't published until 2004. Sandrak certainly fits the profile to a "T". The "Criticism" section of the stub mentions frequent allegations that Sandrak's father "must" have been feeding him anabolic steroids, as otherwise his level of muscular development at such an early age was "impossible". Now we know that isn't true. Shame his family had to endure such (probably) false accusations.

Still I believe it is much more likely that Sandrak was given AAS. That's what I read on several BB-boards and there was supposedly a time when he was out of shape, probably after his father went to jail and Sandrak is pretty short. Well, it's all just conjecture for now..

[TianZi]

I've never seen his "iron cross", only one pic that resembled an iron cross, but was very far from being a correct iron cross. I am not sure you are aware of the difficulty level of that exercise. It requires incredible max. strength, which is a neurological thing, not simple muscle hypertrophy or "brute strength". Thus it takes a lot of time to achieve, I say extremely unlikely.
BTW do you even know what strain that exercise puts on the bones, joints, tendons? Can an infant really withstand such force?

Muscle wasting in the elderly does not seem to be mediated by myostatin, rather a sedentary liefstyle, low T-levels and general atrophy as a result of intrinsic aging.
I don't know how the failure of Wyeth's Myastatin antibody fits all those good news.

The wiki stub does not mention that Richard Sandrak has this condition, but this is not surprising since he was born in 1992, and the first medical literature on this condition in humans wasn't published until 2004. Sandrak certainly fits the profile to a "T". The "Criticism" section of the stub mentions frequent allegations that Sandrak's father "must" have been feeding him anabolic steroids, as otherwise his level of muscular development at such an early age was "impossible". Now we know that isn't true. Shame his family had to endure such (probably) false accusations.

Still I believe it is much more likely that Sandrak was given AAS. That's what I read on several BB-boards and there was supposedly a time when he was out of shape, probably after his father went to jail and Sandrak is pretty short. Well, it's all just conjecture for now..

The physician interviewed for the article observed the infant "nearly" perform an Iron Cross. The parents said he had done so. Being able to recognize the Iron Cross isn't difficult. But I suppose all of them may have exaggerated.

"I believe it is much more likely that Sandrak was given AAS. That's what I read on several BB-boards"

Well, if you read it on several "BB-boards", it must be true.

[VictorBjoerk]

Why is Liam Hoekstra shorten than average size babies? What could be the reason to that?

[kismet]

I don't know whether it's true, that's why I stated it as an opinion: "I believe..".
Though, I'd wager there are not many people with more knowledge about AAS than bodybuilders, apart from endocrinologists. Just wanted to take away from the hype and remind you that a lot of it may be exaggerated or simply wrong.

Edited by kismet, 26 July 2008 - 07:33 PM.

[Shepard]

Though, I'd wager there are not many people with more knowledge about AAS than bodybuilders, apart from endocrinologists.

More knowledge in what sense? There are a ton of drivers that don't know the first thing about being a mechanic. There are a ton of "bodybuilders" that may use anabolics that have absolutely no clue about how they work. Especially about what the effects would be in a developing child.

[Pour_la_Science]

I'm posting here after I've read this article about a new Myostatin blocker : http://www.imminst.o...mp;#entry367920

I don't understand why a mutation with only benefits (a enhanced strength) had not been kept by nature.

Except a shorter size (what doesn't seem to be very detrimental), there are no side effects ???

Edited by Pour_la_Science, 09 December 2009 - 09:13 AM.

[Skötkonung]

I'm posting here after I've read this article about a new Myostatin blocker : http://www.imminst.o...mp;#entry367920

I don't understand why a mutation with only benefits (a enhanced strength) had not been kept by nature.

Except a shorter size (what doesn't seem to be very detrimental), there are no side effects ???

Resources. Neanderthals were also much stronger than modern humans. Large amounts of muscle are very energy- and nutrient-hungry. They take up a large amount of resources even when you aren't using them very much. Since humans developed tool-using skills, they haven't had as much of a need for strength. After all, a strong guy with a spear is just about as effective at hunting as a really strong guy with a spear. The regular strong guy, though, would need less food to survive and would be more efficient, and would therefore have a higher chance of survival. Once bows and arrows or slings were added to the mix, the tool-using advantage just increased.