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Comparative skeletal features between Homo floresiensis and patients with primary growth hormone insensitivity (Laron Syndrome).

Hershkovitz I, Kornreich L, Laron Z

Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel. anatom2@post.tau.ac.il

Comparison between the skeletal remains of Homo floresiensis and the auxological and roentgenological findings in a large Israeli cohort of patients with Laron Syndrome (LS, primary or classical GH insensitivity or resistance) revealed striking morphological similarities, including extremely small stature and reduced cranial volume. LS is an autosomal recessive disease caused by a molecular defect of the Growth Hormone (GH) receptor or in the post-receptor cascades. Epidemiological studies have shown that LS occurs more often in consanguineous families and isolates, and it has been described in several countries in South East Asia. It is our conclusion that the findings from the island of Flores, which were attributed to a new species of the genus Homo, may in fact represent a local, highly inbred, Homo sapiens population in whom a mutation for the GH receptor had occurred.

Published 10 September 2007 in Am J Phys Anthropol, 134(2): 198-208.
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