"In the isolated mountains of Ecuador, a community of four-feet tall dwarves appear to be immune from cancer and diabetes. Here, two scientists are on a mission to find the ultimate cure for cancer.Inbreeding among the small and remote Ecuadorian communities has led to a high percentage of Laron Dwarves. One third of the world's 300 Laron population live in the southern Loja province. "My parents are normal, my grandparents were normal. I have seven siblings, four of them are normal height and three of us are little," says one Laron sufferer. Dr Marco Guevaras and his brother Jaime believe the secret behind the dwarves' apparent immunity lies in the absence of a hormone called "insulin-like growth factor 1 or IGF1". Yet the scientists need to move fast in their research; an expensive treatment has already been discovered to alleviate the symptoms of the syndrome in children." Journeymanpictures***RELATED:Laron Syndrome - History/Background"BackgroundIn 1966 in Israel, Zvi Laron and colleagues reported a genetic form of dwarfism in 3 Yemenite Jewish siblings with clinical and biochemical features of growth hormone deficiency (GHD), but with "abnormally high concentrations of immunoreactive serum growth hormone." The underlying defect was thought to be an inborn error in growth hormone (GH) synthesis resulting in an immunologically detectable but metabolically inactive GH. Within 2 years, 19 additional Israeli patients of Asian Jewish ancestry were identified. Subsequent work led to the identification of more than 250 patients worldwide, with the vast majority of cases being traced to Semitic or Mediterranean origins. These patients were proven to have levels of circulating GH within the reference range but were demonstrated to be metabolically unresponsive to exogenous GH. Initially termed Laron-type dwarfism, this condition is currently known as Laron syndrome (LS), primary GH insensitivity (GHI), or primary GH resistance."