Dear The Dreamer,
it´s great, that you have obviously a lot of motivation to start a crowdfunding campaign. If I understand your postings correctly, you don´t want, that our "Biomedical Growth Research Initiative" plays a major part in this campaign. This would be O.K. for me, of course. But if you want our support and/or our advice, we will like helping!!!
FDR101 already wrote, that besides the so called "cosmetic indication" other indications would be helpful in order to attract enough donators for a crowdfunding campaign. So here are some other indication, for which a safe and effective (bio-)medical height increase therapy could be important:
- Microsomia:
This is the terminology for a body size of between 80 and 150 centimetres. Frequently a normal torso and short legs and/or arms result in proportions which are far from ideal. This can cause enormous daily restrictions when sitting or driving. These problems could be solved. The proportions of the arms and legs in relation to the torso could be corrected.
By far the most frequently diagnosed cause of short stature is achondroplasia, a genetic condition that results in disproportionately short arms and legs. The average height of adults with achondroplasia is 4'0". Other genetic conditions that result in short stature include spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED), diastrophic dysplasia, pseudoachondroplasia, hypochondroplasia, and osteogenesis imperfecta (OI).
According to information compiled by the Greenberg Center at Johns Hopkins Medical Center the frequency of occurrence of the most common types of dwarfism is as follows:
1. Achondroplasia (one per 26,000 to 40,000 births) – so there are about 195.000 people with achondroplasia worldwide (
http://www.dwarfism.org )
2. SED (one per 95,000 births)
3. Diastrophic dysplasia (one per 110,000 births)
These conditions are essentially untreatable, although some people with achondroplasia and hypochondroplasia have undergone painful (and controversial) limb-lengthening surgery. Although achondroplasia accounts for perhaps 70-80 percent of all cases of dwarfism, there are approximately 200 diagnosed types, and some individuals with dwarfism never receive a definitive diagnosis.
- Growth problems/defects:
For example when there is a growth joint defect leading to unequal growth of the
legs. This unequal growth could be corrected.
- Amputation:
Generally speaking it causes less prosthetic problems when dealing with a longer stump. So a signifcant percentage of patients with amputated limbs could benefit.
In the United States alone, there are approximately 1.8 million people living with limb loss. It is estimated that one out of every 200 people in the U.S. has had an amputation (Adams et al. 1999). Between 1988 and 1996, there was an average of 133,735 hospital discharges for amputation per year (Dillingham et al. 2002).
Sources:
Patricia F. Adams, et al, “Current Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, 1996,” Vital and Health Statistics 10:200 (1999).
Timothy R. Dillingham, MD, et al, “Limb Amputation and Limb Deficiency: Epidemiology and Recent Trends in the United States,” Southern Medical Journal 95 (2002): 875-83.
- Trauma:
As the result of an accident where bones or soft tissue have been seriously damaged. The limb must be shortened to ensure wound healing. This could be successfully corrected.
- The removal of tumors:
When a tumour is diagnosed extensive parts of the bone sometimes have to be removed. Currently this usually means that the leg has to be amputated above that point. If the previously removed bone could be lengthened, the patient had the chance of a fully-functional limb again.
Best wishes
Harald
Author
Topic: (Bio-)medical height increase research projects (Read 8142 times)