Word: dwarfism
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Somatotropin is one of the body's important chemicals. Produced by the tiny pituitary gland at the base of the brain, it promotes normal physical growth, hence its other name, human growth hormone (HGH). The chemical is vital in the treatment of a certain form of dwarfism. Unless children who are deficient in the hormone receive injections of HGH, they rarely reach five feet in height. The supply, however, is severely limited: somatotropin can only be obtained from cadavers, and about 50 of the pea-sized glands are needed to treat just one child for a year (cost...
Several obstacles must yet be overcome. Among them: getting the bacteria to produce pure HGH and testing the substance in living creatures, including man. Still, the scientists hope that within two years vats of genetically redesigned E. coli will be acting as minifactories, churning out sufficient somatotropin to treat dwarfism. There may also be enough to test a long held suspicion: that HGH can help heal burns, wounds, bone fractures and even bleeding ulcers...
...Dwarfism...
...Although your article on our dwarfism clinic [May 7] brought the problems of little people to the attention of the public, it was misleading to indicate that our clinic was "the only facility in the world devoted exclusively to the treatment and study of dwarfism." Indeed, there are a number of excellent endocrinology and genetics clinics throughout the world concerned with various forms of short stature...
Heaven Sent. The Los Angeles clinic also deals with many of the other problems connected with dwarfism. Some dwarfs have severe spinal defects that can lead to paralysis if not promptly treated. Others suffer from deteriorating vision and a wide variety of orthopedic problems that most doctors cannot correctly diagnose or treat. Mrs. Estrella Sberna of Los Angeles took her daughter Mary Lou, 12, to dozens of different doctors for problems ranging from a cleft palate to flat feet. But it was only at the clinic that Mary Lou began to receive proper treatment after doctors diagnosed her condition...