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Growth Hormone is a fitting addition to the EndocrineUpdates Series. The aim of these publications is to provide theclinician with cutting-edge, yet succinct, access to the latestadvances in endocrinology. Current interest in this rapidly evolvingarea of endocrinology makes this a timely and important update.Growth Hormone joins Dr. Fagin's Thyroid Cancer incontinuing the standard of excellence as the fourth volume in thisseries of topical updates. Shlomo Melmed, MD, Series Editor, Endocrine Updates Ten years ago, many endocrinologists were still skeptical that growthhormone (GH) played an active role in adult metabolism. This is,perhaps, surprising given that GH deficiency (GHD) in adulthood hadbeen `recognized' as long ago as the 1960s. During the last ten years studies have shown that GHD in adulthood isa far-reaching syndrome associated with abnormal body composition,reduced bone mineral density with an increased fracture rate,increased cardiovascular morbidity and impaired cardiac function, aswell as reduced exercise performance and decreased psychologicalwell-being. Importantly, it is also clear, from placebo-controlledtrials, that GH replacement therapy can normalize body composition,increase bone mineral content and improve the cardiovascular riskfactor profile. GH replacement therapy also improves cardiacperformance and exercise capacity, increases muscle strength andimproves well-being and quality of life. The aim of Growth Hormone is to provide a critical update ofcurrent knowledge about adult GHD and the future role of GH/IGF-1 inadult medicine. For this purpose, contributions from a number ofresearch groups have been invited. It is my hope that the book may notonly serve as an introduction to the field, but also stimulate furtherresearch within this exciting area. ... Read more

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It has been known for over 40 years that GH-deficient children benefit from replacement with the hormone. But GH, essential for longitudinal growth, also plays a role after completion of final height. With the introduction of biosynthetic human GH 20 years ago, the use of GH was no longer restricted to severe growth retardation in hypopituitary children. This book will take the reader behind the myths of GH and into the real world of clinical endocrinology. The contributions stem from recognized clinicians and scientists who have been working in the field for decades. The contents encompass traditional end points of GH therapy such as body composition, bone biology and physical performance. Attention is also devoted to diagnostic aspects and side effects.Additional features range from clinical epidemiology to quality of life, and novel areas such as the impact of traumatic brain injury on pituitary function are also covered. The present volume of "Frontiers of Hormone Research" is essential reading for health care professionals interested in clinical endocrinology and GH. ... Read more

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Dr. Kopits takes me into an examining room and leans against the stainless steel bench and asks me what I'm writing about this time. When I tell him what I saw in Australia, he immediately starts to nod. "This is a great subject," he says. Then he stops, as if caught by the subject himself.

I wait.

After a moment, he continues. "What you are looking into is the abyss. This takes you to the very heart of a human being, to the deepest aspect of the soul.

He gives me one of his solemn looks. "Because the thing is, you have to confront yourself."

(from In the Little World)

In 1997, almost by accident, John H. Richardson found himself sharing a hotel with more than a thousand dwarfs. Over the course of a single week, he witnessed love and anger, fear and bravery, arrogance and humility, even a bizarre romantic deception -- the entire spectrum of human emotion in one concentrated dose. But at the end of the week, he discovered that leaving the "Little World" wasn't as simple as checking out of a hotel. In fact, his journey would last a full two years.

At a time when bigger often seems synonymous with better, and physical beauty serves as currency, the world of dwarfs usually passes beneath our notice. Now, in this groundbreaking work, awardwinning author John H. Richardson brings the Little World into focus.

He introduces us to characters like a saintly but obsessed doctor and a mother who sacrifices her family to save her dwarf daughter. He follows two dwarf lovers from first meeting through the struggle to overcome their fear and shame and find the confidence to love each other. He becomes personally involved in a tangled and often confrontational friendship with a female dwarf. Through these stories and musings ranging from classic theories of beauty to the history of the disability movement to postmodern theories of difference, Richardson presents a world that is a skewed reflection of our own -- and offers us a glimpse into the essential human condition.

Customer Reviews (22)

Royally offensive and poor writing!
I'm a social worker who works with diverse populations and so it is very important to me to become familiar with people of all walks of life. I picked up this book used, hoping it would offer some insight into the world of little people. To my dissapointment, all of the value in this book could have been summed up in perhaps 2 pages. Not only that, but it was horribly offensive as well. The author even admits in the book that his writing is offensive to the people he describes and that it has ruined the social lives of many of the people he writes about. He refused to back down from his belief (even when confronted) that little people's apperances are "wrong" and "inappropriate" (his words). He even describes his own sister as "fat" and can't understand how she let herself "get that way." When he is not busing being explicitly offensive, the author writes a couple hundred (boring, I might ad), pages of mostly dialogue between the mother of a little person and everyone else. This woman appears to be overly dramatic and much of the book is about how she does not like her husband and really offers very little insight in the the world of little people. I haven't read such a terrible book in years, and I'm glad I only spent like a dollar on it. It wasn't even worth that.

Fiction, not reality
Here's a good criteria for judging this book.Substitute the word "dwarf" or "little person" with African American, Jew, Latino, etc., and you will find this book offensive.The author never gets past the physical differences from himself, and we never get a true picture of the humanity of his subjects.I also happen to know some of the subjects of his book, and he completely distorts their stories, and actual events, for the sake of a good read.Consider it a work of fiction.

Egotripping at its worst
John Richardson allegedly went to Atlanta to write about the yearly national conference for Little People of America. What he actually ended up doing was putting himself into the story very much like Charlie Kaufman did in the film "Adaptation." It didn't work for that film and it certainly doesn't work for this book.

So many reviews praise Richardson for sharing this hidden world with the general public. Richardson does not shed light on an unknown world. He reports on a world full of people that he, like many others, fail to see as human beings. He exposes his prejudice towards people with dwarfism throughout, but the most glaring example is at the end. After following Jocelyn and her family for over 2 years he says good-bye and writes that he "bends down to kiss her bulging forehead." Two years and the only thing he still sees are the differences? With reporting such as this he never is able to convey anything to his readers besides his constant "look at the freaks" mentality that the book opens with. Richardson's glee at his entry into dwarf-world simply reads as the kid who finally finds someone the bullies dislike even more than they dislike him and uses his new found knowledge to keep it that way.

Perhaps it's more important for Richardson to blow away the stereotype of "little bodies/big hearts" and let the world know he's the Goliath that slew David. Perhaps his "us vs them" mentality makes him feel superior. Perhaps he has never come to grips that the beauty that he is so obsessed with has eluded him. Whatever his reasons for writing this book, gaining insight on a community he is not a member of is not one of them. There are better fiction books on dwarfism than this supposedly true story.

A MUST READ... INVOLVED!
I loved reading this book and will read it again. When I began reading, I could not set the book down. I felt Richardson was honest and respectful of difference.He speaks his mind over a subject he initially knew very little about. It was one person's perspective and he told it with compassion. As someone who also has a disability, I gravitated toward each and every page; to each and every person.

I was totally involved, so much so that I started rereading my own texts to often dispute what he wrote. Whether I agreed or disagreed with his assessments is not the point. He's a journalist and told it like it is according to his perspective. Does that mean I have to agree with everything he wrote? Of course not.

Yet I was introduced to a world I would not have been, had I not read his account; conversations which involved both the dwarfs and himself. I was so moved by this book and felt it one of the few books I've read in awhile that created an emotional turmoil with myself.

The only thing I questioned (and this is not about his or other's opinons) was that perhaps Eveyln and her daughter Jocelyn were like a book on their own. It was just something I wondered.

I thank all the incredibly brave, honest and candid people profusely. You brought me a new sense about life and love. We are just people.

Different Subject Matter + Great Introspection = Great Read
I saw this book in Half-Price Books. I liked the layout on the cover, it looked "different", and it was cheap (bingo!), so I bought it. Because of time constraints, it took me 2-3 weeks to read this book. However, one could easily finish it within a week if they so desired.
I really liked the book. The author went to a convention of dwarves for a magazine assignment, and initiated relationships that would continue for a long time. One was with Evelyn Powell and her daughter Jocelyn. From Australia, it details their communication and friendship as they return home, go back to America for surgery that will help her to walk, return home again and decide that they are going to return permanently to America, leaving their family behind. In Evelyn you saw both a mother willing to do anything to help her daughter, as well a super-mother who was sometimes overly focused on this quest. You get to know her feelings, as well as those of her other children and her husband, who feel that she abandons them.
You become acquainted with Andrea, another dwarf. She has a love-hate relationship with the author because she's not willing to accept his opinions that dwarves initally strike him as weird. Different. Fascinating. I thought he was being a good reporter, and being honest. It would have been easy to patronize them, and write a touchy-feely big-hearts-in-little-bodies sing-song tribute to the hard lives of dwarves. But I felt that the author really told it as it is. By being intimate about his own response to seeing a little person, he was able to analyze and dissect the reasons why we see people as normal/varying from the norm. I felt that he was brave to be so honest about his thoughts, especially because he got a lot of flak for them. Listen, if you don't want the truth, which is many times ugly, there are a lot of other books you can pick up. I'm not so sure that they will touch you as much as this one did.
Richardson both highlighted the unique lives of dwarves and drew attention to their advantages/disadvantages that come from being short. He also showed, in many times heartbreaking ways, their humanness. Their insecurity. The scrambling that goes on at these conventions to find a romantic partner- because this is a limited opportunity to hook up with someone your own height. The hierarchy within the dwarf community, paralleling that within our own society. I ultimately finished the book feeling drawn closer to humanity, realizing what it is that connects me to humanity, including dwarves, and feeling that I had a glimpse into a group of people that before was unknown to me.

I don't claim to be an expert on the dwarf community after reading this book- without firsthand experience, I will never know what it is like to see life from a lower view. I do feel that this book connected me to a people with passions, frustrations, loves, and hates often the same as my own.

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Product Description

Many nights the dwarf girl, Trudi, fell asleep hoping that her body would stretch itself overnight, that she'd wake up and be the size of other girls her age.

Trudi doesn't know anybody like her. No one with short arms that can't reach coat hooks, or short legs that dangle in chairs; no one small enough to look into her eyes.

No one, that is, until she meets Pia at the circus. Pia is a lion tamer -- strong and fearless and, most important, a dwarf like Trudi. When Pia asks for a volunteer to step into the ring, Trudi doesn't hesitate. And together, they weave tales of a magical island where people are little and never lonely. After the enchantment ends, Pia shares a secret with Trudi: Feeling that you belong starts with loving yourself.

Adapted from Ursula Hegi's best-selling novel Stones from the River -- and perfectly paired with Giselle Potter's poignant illustrations -- this moving story of a girl's search for acceptance captures what it feels like to be different...and then what it feels like to realize that you're not. ... Read more

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It is now widely recognised that growth hormone has an important role in the health of adults as well as the normal development of children. This authoritative compilation is the first to look in depth at the role of growth hormone in healthy adults, the impact of growth hormone deficiency and its effective treatment. The availability of biosynthetic growth hormone has fuelled much research and interest in this area. This timely new publication provides a rigorous, balanced and scientific account of growth hormone deficiency in adults and therapeutic potential now available as a result of synthetic growth hormone. The volume surveys the physiology of growth hormone secretion and action, diagnostic and clinical aspects of growth hormone deficiency, growth hormone replacement therapy, and concludes with an overview of growth hormone and ageing. The volume is the most authoritative, comprehensive and detailed account available. The team of authors is drawn from leading centres of clinical research from around the world. It will be an essential source of reference for all those involved in growth hormone research and the treatment of growth hormone deficiency. ... Read more

Product Description
The story of Love, that simple theme with variations _ad libitum_, _ad infinitum_, is never old, never stale, never out-of-date. And as we sometimes seek rest from the brilliant audacities and complex passions of Wagner or Tschaikowsky in the tender simplicity of some ancient English air, so we occasionally turn with relief from the wit and insight and subtlety of our modern novelists to the old uncomplicated tales of faerie or romance, and find them after all more moving, more tender, even more real, than all the laboured realism of these photographic days. And here before us is of all pretty love-stories perhaps the prettiest. Idyllic as Daphnis and Chloe, romantic as Romeo and Juliet, tender as Undine, remote as Cupid and Psyche, yet with perpetual touches of actual life, and words that raise pictures; and lightened all through with a dainty playfulness, as if Ariel himself had hovered near all the time of its writing, and Puck now and again shot a whisper of suggestion.
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Mr. Roscoe rang the bell, and, in answer, a servant entered the library, where he sat before a large and commodious desk.

"Has the mail yet arrived?" he asked.

"Yes, sir; John has just come back from the village."

"Go at once and bring me the letters and papers, if there are any."

John bowed and withdrew.

Mr. Roscoe walked to the window, and looked thoughtfully out upon a smooth, luxuriant lawn and an avenue of magnificent trees, through which carriages were driven to what was popularly known as Castle Roscoe. Everything, even to the luxuriously appointed room in which he sat, indicated wealth and the ease which comes from affluence.

Download Hector's Inheritance Now! ... Read more

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Mr. Roscoe walked to the window, and looked thoughtfully out upon a smooth, luxuriant lawn and an avenue of magnificent trees, through which carriages were driven to what was popularly known as Castle Roscoe. Everything, even to the luxuriously appointed room in which he sat, indicated wealth and the ease which comes from affluence. ... Read more

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MR. ROSCOE RECEIVES TWO LETTERS.



Mr. Roscoe rang the bell, and, in answer, a servant entered the library, where he sat before a large and commodious desk.

"Has the mail yet arrived?" he asked.

"Yes, sir; John has just come back from the village."

"Go at once and bring me the letters and papers, if there are any."

John bowed and withdrew.

Mr. Roscoe walked to the window, and looked thoughtfully out upon a smooth, luxuriant lawn and an avenue of magnificent trees, through which carriages were driven to what was popularly known as Castle Roscoe. Everything, even to the luxuriously appointed room in which he sat, indicated wealth and the ease which comes from affluence.

Mr. Roscoe looked around him with exultation.

"And all this may be mine," he said to himself, "if I am only bold. What is it old Pindar says? 'Boldness is the beginning of victory.' I have forgotten nearly all I learned in school, but I remember that. There is some risk, perhaps, but not much, and I owe something to my son---"

He was interrupted by the entrance of the servant with a small leather bag, which was used to hold mail matter, going from or coming to the house.

The servant unlocked the bag, and emptied the contents on the desk. There were three or four papers and two letters. It was the last which attracted Mr. Roscoe's attention.

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Simon Quinn may be short, but he casts a tall shadow. Standing only three-and-a-half feet tall, he has risen above his lifelong struggles with dwarfism, and has become a legend in his own time. A world renowned sculptor, Simon has created works for celebrities and royalty the world over. He had no intention of becoming a detective, until his world was shattered by the horribly brutal murder of his fiancee. When local police are unable to find the killer, Simon becomes determined to track him down. He uses his unique size and talent for squeezing in tight spaces to his advantage, and the hunt is on. Will he be able to catch the killer, or will he come under suspicion himself, and be charged for a murder he didn't commit? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Gripping, can't put it down book
Well written murder mystery. Keeps you hooked until the last page. This would make a great movie.
... Read more

Product Description
The story of Love, that simple theme with variations _ad libitum_, _ad infinitum_, is never old, never stale, never out-of-date. And as we sometimes seek rest from the brilliant audacities and complex passions of Wagner or Tschaikowsky in the tender simplicity of some ancient English air, so we occasionally turn with relief from the wit and insight and subtlety of our modern novelists to the old uncomplicated tales of faerie or romance, and find them after all more moving, more tender, even more real, than all the laboured realism of these photographic days. And here before us is of all pretty love-stories perhaps the prettiest. Idyllic as Daphnis and Chloe, romantic as Romeo and Juliet, tender as Undine, remote as Cupid and Psyche, yet with perpetual touches of actual life, and words that raise pictures; and lightened all through with a dainty playfulness, as if Ariel himself had hovered near all the time of its writing, and Puck now and again shot a whisper of suggestion.
... Read more

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Do certain eating disorders directly correlate with neglect and abuse? What do eating and growth disorders have in common? Are some treatment methods more successful than others in treating such disorders? Exploring these and other questions, this volume examines the relevant literature on each major eating and growth disorder from infancy to childhood.

Anorexia nervosa, obesity, failure to thrive and psychosocial dwarfism are among the major disorders considered. The author describes the emergence and course of each specific disorder, discusses known or suspected risk factors, and examines unresolved clinical and research issues. Woolston also stresses the advantages of using a multidisciplinary team approach.

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John Richardson, a "tall" person, has always been fascinated by the dwarf world and, in the course of researching a piece for "Esquire" magazine, came to realize he was doing much more than simply documenting the lives of a few quirky characters. He was entering another world, a sub-culture that has long been the subject of a peculiar fascination to many people, but much misunderstood. As he says "Dwarfs are like us but more so, as if the process of distilling humanity to fit their size also made it stronger". At the centre of the book is Dr. Steven Kopits of Johns Hopkins University, a doctor who has dedicated his life to the treatment of dwarfs, and who has been shunned by the medical community as a result. Dr Kopits has offered Richardson complete access to himself and his patients and the heart of the book tells the love story of two dwarfs, Michael and Meredith. By weaving these threads together, Richardson, the tall outsider entering this "little" world, aims to redefine the way we look at dwarfs, at others who live on the margins of society, and, ultimately, at ourselves. ... Read more