Achondroplasia

Achondroplasia is a bone growth disorder that causes the most common kind of dwarfism. The signs you see associated with this disease include increased frontal head circumference, shortened upper and lower limbs and a broad flat nose bridge.  This disease has no gender nor racial preference.  It also does not affect their intelligence and most live normal independent lives.  Complications occur when they have a narrow spine canal or are knock-kneed or bow legged, this all requires surgery. People get this disease by a gene from their parents, it is a dominant gene so if one parent passes it down to the offspring the offspring will have achondroplasia. If both parents carry the gene and give it to the baby the infant will only live a few days at best.  A common misconception is that if a "little person" has babies with another "little person" it will most likely be a dwarf and have achondroplasia, but in all actuality about 80% of people who have achondroplasia both have normal sized parents.