August 19th, 2004
Dwarf Mice, Growth Hormones, Aging
An interesting piece at the International Herald Tribune discusses the effects of growth hormone and body size on longevity. For example, there are "mice that produce growth hormone but cannot respond to it. Called Laron dwarfs, they are fertile and live as much as 50 percent longer than normal mice. The oldest mouse on record, which lived nearly five years, was a Laron dwarf." The science is somewhat up in the air at the moment. Researchers do not yet fully understand how all the hormonal pieces fit together in mice, let alone humans, and a healthy debate is under way. Human hormone therapies are an uncertain proposition at this time, no matter what promoters in the anti-aging marketplace have to say on the matter.