Little People of Ecuador: Laron Syndrome May Unlock Cancer, Diabetes Cure

[Judi Lynn]

Source: NBC News

Little People of Ecuador: Laron Syndrome May Unlock Cancer, Diabetes Cure

by Cynthia McFadden, Jake Whitman and Tracy Connor

In the remote villages of Ecuador, 100 very small people may hold the key to a huge medical breakthrough.

They all suffer from Laron Syndrome, an incredibly rare genetic disorder that stops them from growing taller than 4 feet but also seems to protect them against cancer and diabetes and maybe even heart disease and Alzheimer's.

"There's only one patient that has died of cancer among all of the subjects. And that is fascinating," said Dr. Jaime Guevara-Aguirre, who has been studying the Laron population for 30 years.

NBC News traveled with Guevara-Aguirre, an endocrinologist, and his research partner, Dr. Valter Longo, a longevity specialist at the University of Southern California, to southern Ecuador to visit their tiny patients.

Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/health/aging/little-people-ecuador-laron-syndrome-may-unlock-cancer-diabetes-cure-n511266

[forest444]

1. You know what this means:

Last edited Tue Feb 16, 2016, 11:46 AM - Edit history (1)

The AMA is busy arranging for patents to be issued over these discoveries, which they will then sit on until Kingdom come of course.

Cancer has been described as a "solid-gold train" for them. They'll never want off.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. That crossed my mind

[appalachiablue]

2. Thanks for the very interesting article.