Jump to content

  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

Dwarfs Hold Clues to Cancer Cure

boo7382

By boo7382,
in Huddle Lounge

Recommended Posts

boo7382 Rookie

boo7382

Posted
Posted

I was reading it in Spanish on BBCMundo but found an article translated. This is very cool.

A GROUP of dwarfs in Ecuador - who live in a remote village in the Andes - could hold the clues to curing cancer.

Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles closely monitored around 100 members of the group and found almost no cases of cancer or diabetes, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The group, who live in the Loja province of southern Ecuador, had mutated genes that lowered their growth hormone activity and stunted growth, according to scientists.

The study suggested that blocking growth hormone activity in full grown adults through prescription drugs or a special diet could unlock the mystery of cancer.

If the process worked and only had minor side effects, societies in the future could live without major illnesses, said cell biologist Valter Longo, who led the USC research team. "It's the dream of every administration, anywhere in the world," Longo said. "You live a long healthy life, and then you drop dead."

The group was monitored for about 23 years. Many had Laron syndrome - a disorder characterised by insensitivity to growth hormone - and were no bigger than 1.1n metres tall.

During that time, there were no documented cases of diabetes and only one non-lethal case of cancer, according to the study. However, the group's lifespan was no higher than normal, researchers said.

While it was still unclear whether the mutated gene, IGF-1, was the reason they were almost cancer and diabetes-free, similar observations were made in genetic work done in yeast, worms and mice with a similar type of mutated gene.

Longo and his team were trying to seek approval for a clinical trial with people undergoing chemotherapy which would administer drugs that block growth hormone. A similar-type drug to treat gigantism was already approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

But diet restrictions may also have the same effect, Longo said. Studies were underway to determine whether fasting altered growth factors that could have the same effect as the Laron mutation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • PMH4OWPW7JD2TDGWZKTOYL2T3E.jpg

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • bigdog_10_2002
      Flux

      By bigdog_10_2002 · Posted

      I would write “give remmers tight end help” on a yellow sticky note and stuck it in shulas playbook the night before superbowl 50. 
    • strato
      Flux

      By strato · Posted

      And don’t worry about Bryce he will be great… Peyton Manning had a horrible rookie year too 😂
    • strato
      Top 10 worst qb rooms from CBS sports. Panthers number 9

      By strato · Posted

      Nothing wrong with it at all until you start telling others they are bad fans or not fans. But you are the good fan because you never say negative stuff about the team.    I did many years of that type of uninformed fanning because there really was no info and coverage like there is with the internet.    I mean, I used to go to the store and get Street and Smith’s annual football issue. That was about the extent of what you could get if you didn’t live in a big city with sportswriters covering and reporting.  There was no video to look at or replay the games and if you didn’t live in the market you could only rarely see your football team play.    TI have fanned since being a kid in the early 1960s, and as late as 1995 - ‘97 I lived in Atlanta and good luck getting more than 3 or 4 games a year on TV. No radio either. No print coverage outside of an AP recap and box unless they played Atlanta.  People today that have always had the network connection don’t know.    I wasn’t very educated about the Panthers until I finally got internet. 
×
×
  • Create New...