Though they may be short of stature, people with Laron syndrome — a genetic disorder that causes dwarfism — come up big on health. A new study has found that a population of Ecuadoreans with the disorder might be near-impervious to cancer and diabetes, and scientists hope to find a way to replicate those health benefits in the population at large. Laron syndrome is caused by a mutation to a single DNA molecule in the GHR gene, which regulates growth hormone proteins in the body. The mutation renders the gene defective and results in stunted growth. Several decades ago, researchers noticed that yeast and mice with defective growth hormone receptor genes live much longer and healthier lives than do their typically growing relatives. In the case of yeast, said Valter Longo, a gerontologist at the University of Southern California and one of the current study’s lead authors, dwarf varieties can live up to three times longer than normal yeast.
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