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Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than 147 centimetres, regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dwarfism is 120 centimetres (4 ft). Disproportionate dwarfism is characterized by either short limbs or a short torso. In cases of proportionate dwarfism, both the limbs and torso are unusually small. Intelligence is usually normal, and most have a nearly normal life expectancy. People with dwarfism can usually bear children, though there are additional risks to the mother and child depending upon the underlying condition.
Iron deficiency, or sideropenia, is the state in which a body lacks enough iron to supply its needs. Iron is present in all cells in the human body and has several vital functions, such as carrying oxygen to the tissues from the lungs as a key component of the hemoglobin protein, acting as a transport medium for electrons within the cells in the form of cytochromes, and facilitating oxygen enzyme reactions in various tissues. Too little iron can interfere with these vital functions and lead to morbidity and death.
Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in human development. GH also stimulates production of Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and increases the concentration of glucose and free fatty acids. It is a type of mitogen which is specific only to the receptors on certain types of cells. GH is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide that is synthesized, stored and secreted by somatotropic cells within the lateral wings of the anterior pituitary gland.
Growth hormone deficiency (GHD), or human growth hormone deficiency, is a medical condition resulting from not enough growth hormone (GH). Generally the most noticeable symptom is that an individual attains a short height. Newborns may also present low blood sugar or a small penis size. In adults there may be decreased muscle mass, high cholesterol levels, or poor bone density.
Growth hormone therapy refers to the use of growth hormone (GH) as a prescription medication—it is one form of hormone therapy. Growth hormone is a peptide hormone secreted by the pituitary gland that stimulates growth and cell reproduction. In the past, growth hormone was extracted from human pituitary glands. Growth hormone is now produced by recombinant DNA technology and is prescribed for a variety of reasons. GH therapy has been a focus of social and ethical controversies for 50 years.
Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), also called somatomedin C, is a hormone similar in molecular structure to insulin which plays an important role in childhood growth, and has anabolic effects in adults.
Controversies regarding the use of human growth hormone (HGH) as treatment method have centered on the claims, products, and businesses related to the use of growth hormone as an anti-aging therapy. Most of these controversies fall into two categories:
- Claims of exaggerated, misleading, or unfounded assertions that growth hormone treatment safely and effectively slows or reverses the effects of aging.
- The sale of products that fraudulently or misleadingly purport to be growth hormone or to increase the user's own secretion of natural human growth hormone to a beneficial degree.
Micronutrients are essential dietary elements required by organisms in varying quantities to regulate physiological functions of cells and organs. Micronutrients support the health of organisms throughout life.
Short stature refers to a height of a human which is below typical. Whether a person is considered short depends on the context. Because of the lack of preciseness, there is often disagreement about the degree of shortness that should be called short. Dwarfism is the condition of being very short, often caused by a medical condition. In a medical context, short stature is typically defined as an adult height that is more than two standard deviations below a population’s mean for age and sex, which corresponds to the shortest 2.3% of individuals in that population.
Tercica, Inc., was a biopharmaceutical company based in Brisbane, California, United States. It developed Increlex, also known as recombinant human Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (rhIGF-1). Tercica applied to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of Increlex as a long-term therapy for growth failure in children with severe primary IGF-1 deficiency, which is characterized by growth failure, and as a treatment for children with growth hormone (GH) gene deletion who have developed neutralizing antibodies to growth hormone.
Laron syndrome (LS), also known as growth hormone insensitivity or growth hormone receptor deficiency (GHRD), is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a lack of insulin-like growth factor 1 production in response to growth hormone. It is usually caused by inherited growth hormone receptor (GHR) mutations.
The MAGIC Foundation is an American non-profit organization which helps families of children diagnosed with a wide variety of different growth impacting medical conditions through education, networking, physician referrals and numerous other services. It was founded in 1989. It is maintained through a network of volunteers and a full-time staff of five people. Their services include public education and awareness, quarterly newsletters, national networking, an annual convention, disorder specific brochures, and a Kids Program.
Sermorelin acetate, also known as GHRH (1-29), is a peptide analogue of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) which is used as a diagnostic agent to assess growth hormone (GH) secretion for the purpose of diagnosing growth hormone deficiency. It is a 29-amino acid polypeptide representing the 1–29 fragment from endogenous human GHRH, thought to be the shortest fully functional fragment of GHRH.
Zinc deficiency is defined either as insufficient zinc to meet the needs of the body, or as a serum zinc level below the normal range. However, since a decrease in the serum concentration is only detectable after long-term or severe depletion, serum zinc is not a reliable biomarker for zinc status. Common symptoms include increased rates of diarrhea. Zinc deficiency affects the skin and gastrointestinal tract; brain and central nervous system, immune, skeletal, and reproductive systems.
Mecasermin, sold under the brand name Increlex, also known as recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1 (rhIGF-1), is a recombinant form of human insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) which is used in the long-term treatment of growth failure and short stature in children with severe primary IGF-I deficiency, for instance due to growth hormone deficiency or Laron syndrome.
Hypoplasminogenemia, also known as plasminogen deficiency type 1, is a genetic disorder characterized by a lack of the protein plasminogen, which is responsible for the ability of the body to break down fibrin clots. Plasminogen deficiency leads to an accumulation of fibrin, causing the development of growths (lesions) that can impair normal tissue and organ function and may lead to blindness when these lesions affect the eyes.
Ibutamoren is a potent, long-acting, orally-active, selective, and non-peptide agonist of the ghrelin receptor and a growth hormone secretagogue, mimicking the growth hormone (GH)-stimulating action of the endogenous hormone ghrelin. It has been shown to increase the secretion of several hormones including GH and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and produces sustained increases in the plasma levels of these hormones without affecting cortisol levels.
Somapacitan, sold under the brand name Sogroya, is a growth hormone medication. Somapacitan is a human growth hormone analog. Somapacitan-beco is produced in Escherichia coli by recombinant DNA technology.
Lonapegsomatropin, sold under the brand name Skytrofa, is a human growth hormone used for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency. Lonapegsomatropin is a prodrug of somatropin.
Somatrogon, sold under the brand name Ngenla, is a medication for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency. Somatrogon is a glycosylated protein constructed from human growth hormone and a small part of human chorionic gonadotropin which is appended to both the N-terminal and C-terminal.
References
- ↑ Melody Petersen (2009). Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves Into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-0-312-42825-9.
- ↑ "Selling Growth Drug for Children: The Legal and Ethical Questions". New York Times . August 15, 1994. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
