SCIENCE / MEDICINE : Hormone May Help Sweat Disorder

Research in animals suggests that treatment with a hormone called epidermal growth factor may help in treatment of a rare genetic disorder that makes humans unable to sweat properly, Canadian researchers reported last week. About one in every 10,000 babies is born with the disease, called hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, which causes them to have few or no sweat glands, no hair and dental abnormalities. The disorder is not fatal with appropriate medical care, but victims must lead a severely constrained lifestyle.

Biologist Stan R. Blecher and his colleagues at the University of Guelph studied mice with a genetic defect that causes a similar lack of sweat glands. They reported in Nature that the mice developed sweat glands if they were given daily injections of the hormone for a month after birth, although they did not develop as many glands as normal mice and did not sweat as profusely.

Because scientists believe the defective mouse gene to be equivalent to the defective human gene, the Canadian researchers said the hormone should be studied as a possible therapy for babies with the sweating disorder.