http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/02/17/study-dwarfs-brings-closer-understanding-cancer/
In a very interesting story
published in the New York Times on Thursday, scientists say they are closer to
unlocking the mysteries of cancer and increasing longevity through their studies of community of dwarfs living in a remote
village in
Now the common factor among the
Ecuadorian villagers is that they all have a genetic mutation that is blocking
a key growth hormone, and this mutation seems to offer lifelong protection
against cancer and diabetes.
Specifically, this is a mutation
in the gene that makes the receptor for growth hormone, making it unable to
react to growth hormone.
In children without this gene
mutation, growth hormone forces liver cells to produce another hormone called
insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), which makes the children grow. If
children with the mutation are given IGF-1 prior to reaching puberty, they can
grow to a relatively normal height. ( Read
the entire article)
A community of dwarfs living in a
remote corner of
The Laron
dwarfs, who are in perfect proportion but grow only to an average height of
Now scientists studying a hormone
present in other humans but which is lacking in the dwarfs believe their
findings could lead to the development of an effective anti-cancer drug.
Leading British cancer experts
have welcomed the research, which they said could be important in preventing
the killer disease.
There are a little more than 300
people in the world with the condition Laron dwarfism,
a third of whom live in remote villages in
Sufferers of Laron
– believed to be caused by inbreeding – lack a hormone called Insulin-like
Growth Factor 1, or IGF1.(Read
the entire article)