Humans have been intrigued by the idea of living forever pretty much since we began to have the luxury of recording our hopes and dreams for the future.

It could be more that we wish we didn’t have to die than being able to live forever, but that’s probably splitting hairs.

Now, scientists think there could be a gene mutation that could make those age-old dreams a reality.

In a way, at least.

This mutation is found in little people with a rare genetic disorder called Laron syndrome. It gifts them with deficient receptors for a growth hormone, which is also what causes their short stature.

It comes with health advantages, too, like a decreased risk of developing heart issues due to lower blood pressure and less artery plaque buildup is one.

Valter Longo, a gerontology and biological sciences professor, explains in more detail.

“We have shown in studies people with Laron have a very low incidence of cancer, diabetes and cognitive decline. It doesn’t mean that they are immune to these diseases, but people with Laron syndrome certainly seem to be very protected. This is how powerful this mutation seems to be.”

Another benefit is a disruption to the body’s ability to use an “insulin-like growth factor” called IGF-1.

It tends to result in a lower level of the protein, which seems to play a major role in the control of aging.

Longo and his colleagues examined the cardiovascular risk factors in two groups of people, one made up of 16 people with Laron syndrome and 14 family members without the mutation.

The second group contained 21 people with Laron syndrome and 23 people without the condition.

They found that people with Laron had better sensitivity to insulin, lower blood pressure, and no heart rhythm disturbances.

“We found people with Laron certainly do not have an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease despite the fact that they are often obese and live in poor environments, and some markers of cardiovascular disease were even improved.”

Being healthy for a normal life span sounds great.

Nathaly Paola Castro Torres, who has Laron disease, says she’s in perfect health, despite being overweight.

“I am also quite lucky because in reality my body protects me a lot from diseases that other people have every day. This height, at the same time as being a limitation, is also a blessing.”

The researchers believe that studying people with this natural mutation could help others without it be healthier in the future.

For example, they could look at developing a medication that reduces IGF-1 levels – which could also provide anti-aging benefits.

“The idea would be for people who have high circulating IGF-1 levels to get drugs that lower the IGF-1 back to the range that seems to be associated with the lowest mortality rate, much like people take a drug for high cholesterol.”

This definitely sounds intriguing, but if you ask me, being healthy for a normal life span sounds great.

Better than living forever, for sure.

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