Why the study?
Does sex affect body proportion in Laron syndrome?
Does sex affect body proportion in Laron syndrome?
GH/IGF-I signaling and serum IGF-I influence body segment proportionality in a comparable manner in both sexes, independent of Laron syndrome status.
Estrogen may shape body proportions sex-specifically beyond IGF-I effects; leaves open confirmation in larger prospective cohorts.
Under normal circumstances, the GH/IGF-I axis is the main hormonal influence for longitudinal growth and adult height in males and females. Opposite to that, epiphyseal fusion, skeletal characteristics and fat distribution are mediated by estrogen in a sex-specific manner. While we have previously demonstrated that longitudinal growth and body proportionality are affected by serum IGF-I concentration (Guevara-Aguirre et al., 2025 (1)), now we present evidence demonstrating that body proportions in Laron syndrome (LS) are affected but independently of sex. Considering that the percent difference between males and females is comparable not only in Laron syndrome subjects but also in its relatives as well as in normal populations, it is suggested that the GH/IGF-I signaling and serum IGF-I influence body proportions in a similar fashion in both sexes. We conclude that the status of GH/IGF-I signaling and serum IGF-I influence body segment proportionality in a comparable manner in both sexes and that this notion might apply to all normal humans.
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Guevara et al. (2026) studied this question.
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