Feo Pio
A Virginia neurologist thinks that Pio Pico--the last Mexican governor of California, whose Pico House Hotel still stands near Olvera Street--suffered from acromegaly, complicated by a benign tumor of the pituitary gland. That made cartilage and soft tissue in his face grow large and disproportionate.
In this picture of Pico from an online 1967 San Diego Historical Society Journal, a snowy beard obscures a lot.
The Los Angeles Times headline reads: What made Pio Pico so feo? It's a bit harsh, but yeah. He's no Antonio Banderas. And he don't look a bit like his brother Andres, below.
Dr. Ivan S. Login (the neurologist) says "When you see one person who's got that [acromegaly], you recognize it forever." Well, yes, and I'm sure the doctor knows his stuff. But it's also true that if you're holding a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.
The report will be in a journal called Pituitary. Definitely a niche publication. The picture of Andres, btw, is online courtesy of the San Fernando Valley Historical Association...
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