Don't Envy The Tall

OK, I feel better now. Having to suffer height oppression from all these people who because they are six-feet-one and over believe they are fit and destined to rule the world -- their self-destruction is built-in!

'Immune' to cancer: The astonishing dwarf community in Ecuador who could hold the key to a cure

Sufferers of Laron – believed to be caused by inbreeding – lack a hormone called Insulin-like Growth Factor 1, or IGF1.

Research uncovered during an investigation by Channel 4’s More4 News suggests this is the reason for their longevity and apparent immunity to cancer. In ordinary humans, too much of the hormone can lead a person to develop breast, prostate or bowel cancers at an early age.

Dr Jaime Guevara-Aguirre, a hormone expert from the Ecuadorian Institute of Endocrinology, who has been studying Laron dwarfism for more than ten years, said: ‘We’ve discovered that people with Laron simply don’t get cancer.

‘Cancer can be detected in their relatives of a normal size, but never in my patients – not one single case.

‘Every experiment has demonstrated that high levels of IGF1 are associated with cancer, but these patients have low levels of IGF1 and an absence of the disease.’

And:

‘Laboratory work in mice, flies and worms has shown that if IGF1 is removed, the animals tend not to get cancer and to live longer. This is now mirrored in recent research into small humans, who turn out to have little or no IGF1, as is the case with Laron dwarfs.

‘Recent work suggests it might be possible to reduce IGF1 and so live longer with a reduced risk of cancer.’

Bah! Who am I kidding? There has to be a catch somewhere...

... plus, there's always meat to kill you.

I wouldn't be surprised if the dwarves were all vegetarians.

Like I said: Always a catch.

(And yo, I am normal height. But you'd be surprised the difference a few frikkin inches makes!) (Ahem.)