Dwarfing Gene Could Fight Cancer and Diabetes

Preventing cancer and diabetes could be possible thanks to a genetic mutation that causes dwarfism. A group of investigators of the Science Translational Medicine journal,  that studied for 22 years an Ecuadorian community of people with low growth hormone, reported that they found in the studied group very few cases of the two diseases, which are the major causes of death in the occident.

The researchers, led by Valter Longo of the University of Southern California and Jaime Guevara Aguirre, an Ecuadorian endocrinologist, monitored the isolated community residents who had Laron syndrome, a genetic deficiency that prevents the body to use the growth hormone.

The study included 100 people with dwarfism and 1,600 standard height relatives living in nearby villages. In the 22 years of monitoring, there was no diabetes cases and there was only one case of non-fatal cancer.

The researchers conducted several blood tests to patients with Laron syndrome and managed to discover that their DNA was protected against cancer-causing agents; their bodies quickly eliminated any damaged cells before they had the chance to develop into cancer.

“We believe that perhaps this double protective effect might well be the reason for the absence of cancer in this population,” Longo said at aconference.

Source: Diario Expreso