Patients with growth hormone receptor deficiency appear to have lower than average risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
- Laron syndrome is characterized by an inability of the body to use its own growth hormone and results in stunted growth.
- People affected by this growth hormone receptor deficiency have smaller heart sizes.
- They also have “normal or improved levels of cardiovascular disease risk factors.”
Only 400 to 500. This is the number of people affected by Laron syndrome in the world. This is a rare form of dwarfism. More precisely, this deficiency in growth hormone receptors is characterized by an inability of the body to use its own growth hormone and results in growth retardation. This congenital disorder has attracted the interest of scientists who study aging and metabolic diseases because these patients live longer on average than those without Laron syndrome.
Laron syndrome: “the risk of cardiovascular diseases is poorly understood” in patients
Furthermore, “people with growth hormone insensitivity due to GH receptor deficiency have a very low incidence of insulin resistance, diabetes, and cancer, as well as related delayed cognitive decline.” at the age. However, the risk of cardiovascular diseases in these subjects is poorly understood,” indicated researchers from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (United States) and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador).
In a recent study, they decided to evaluate cardiovascular function, lesions and risk factors in people suffering from Laron syndrome and their relatives. The team measured markers of cardiovascular disease in two phases, in Los Angeles and Ecuador, involving a total of 51 people, including 24 diagnosed with growth hormone receptor deficiency and 27 healthy parents.
Smaller heart dimensions in people with Laron syndrome
According to the results, published in the journal Med, participants affected by Laron syndrome had lower blood sugar, insulin resistance and blood pressure than the control group. They also had smaller heart dimensions and similar pulse wave velocity (i.e. a measure of artery stiffness) but carotid artery thickness was lower than in healthy parents. Despite high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad cholesterol”, volunteers with growth hormone receptor deficiency showed a tendency for a reduction in atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid artery compared to control subjects (7% versus 36%).
“This research suggests that these patients have normal or improved levels of cardiovascular disease risk factors compared to their relatives. Although the population tested is small, this human data, combined with studies in mice and other organisms, provide valuable information on the health effects of growth hormone receptor deficiency and suggest that drugs or dietary interventions causing similar effects could reduce the incidence of disease and possibly prolong the longevity”, concluded Walter Longoco-author of the work.
