HGH Research Article

I've been reading posts and sticky's for 6 months now and recently started posting. I've been doing extensive research to re-abilitate myself from 8 years of LOW-T. i've suffered from Diabetes, the on-set brought on early from LOW-T, joint injury's etc...

I see many questions on HGH. I found this research paper that explanes quite a bit and will answer questions that a newbee can understand. It will also direct you to studies (for the "KNOWLEDGABLE" members) to research, if needed. The one thing it does not cover is the question of "HGH and DIABETICS". The theory is that HGH releases/opens the carbohydrate containers in the body due to its FAT loss properties, spiking the sugar levels for aproximatelly 6 months until the metabolism stabilises. Then the sugar levels stay at lower levels helping with Diabetes. This is just a theory. it has not been tested and the 6 month spike in sugar is not worth the risk.

I believe its better to lower sugar levels first. I will post some info about a NEW hormone specifically for Diabetes brand name Victoza.

I hope this helps.


"Growth Hormone
Before we discuss the story of human growth hormone (hGH) as an anti-aging therapy, we think it would be helpful to review some physiology. hGH is produced in the pituitary gland by the somatotroph cells (hGH’s medical name is somatotropin). Under the influence of the hypothalamus (the part of the brain concerned with the more primitive bodily functions), hGH is released in four or five short spurts, predominantly at night during the third and fourth stages of deep sleep. As it circulates through the blood, hGH stimulates the liver to produce “insulin-like growth factor I” (IGF-I). Because it is released in spurts, hGH is difficult to measure except in a research setting where blood can be drawn every 10 minutes. The blood level of IGF-I, in contrast, is more constant, and therefore, except under certain circumstances, it serves as a reliable surrogate measure of hGH production.

Interestingly, the use of growth hormone as an anti-aging therapy resulted from research on its use in two disease states. Lack of hGH causes dwarfism or short-stature in children. In 1957, hGH isolated from human cadavers was injected into these children and normal growth ensued without significant side effects. However, when these children reached normal adult height, the hGH was discontinued because of its expense and scarcity (it took many human pituitary glands to make a few drops of the substance).

The other cause of hGH deficiency occurs when a person has had damage to his pituitary gland, either from surgery for a tumor of the gland or trauma. If this occurs when he is young, the patient will be growth retarded just as the children mentioned above. If it occurs when he is past adolescence, he will have already grown to normal height, but usually will have other endocrine abnormalities such as cortisone, thyroid hormone, and sex steroid deficiencies. These latter hormones routinely have been replaced because their deficiencies can be immediately life threatening or at least decrease the quality of life in the short term; but since hGH was not thought to have any important physiologic role, other than causing growth in children, it was not routinely replaced.
In 1986, the advent of recombinant DNA technology (gene cloning) enabled scientists to produce large quantities of pure, uncontaminated human growth hormone from bacteria. This development set in motion renewed interest in the other physiologic roles of hGH because of its availability for clinical research.

When researchers looked back at records of adults who had been treated with hGH as children or those who had become growth hormone deficient as a result of trauma or tumors, they found that they were not doing very well. They had two times the rate of death from cardiovascular disease compared with age-matched controls; increased abdominal fat; decreased muscle mass and strength; increased fatigue, social isolation and depression; and poor performance at work. These patients appeared to be suffering from premature aging. Bengt Bengtsson, MD and his group in Sweden decided to study the effect of the now more available recombinant hGH on these patients. He found that virtually all of these aspects of premature aging were reversed with one year of treatment, and that they returned to baseline with cessation of therapy. This research led to the FDA approval of hGH replacement therapy in growth hormone deficient adults (GHDA) in August of 1996.

At about the same time, Daniel Rudman, MD, at the University of Wisconsin, was approaching this from a slightly different angle. He had documented the continuous decline in growth hormone secretion beginning in the third decade of life and wondered if it was responsible for the well-known body composition changes associated with aging such as decreased muscle tone, increased abdominal fat, and thinning skin. In 1990, he published a seminal article in The New England Journal of Medicine in which he reported the spectacular age reversing effects of hGH replacement in 21 men between the ages of 61 and 81. After six months of therapy, these men had gained on average 8.8% lean body mass and lost 14% fat mass, predominately around the waist; had increased their skin thickness by 7% (your skin is thicker and more elastic when you’re young); had increased bone density 1.4%; and felt a greater sense of well-being. In the conclusion, Rudman wrote that these changes in body composition are “equivalent in magnitude to the changes incurred during 10 to 20 years of aging.”

The results of this study triggered immense interest in hGH as an anti-aging therapy. The National Institutes on Aging (NIA), a branch of the National Institutes of Health, initiated nine large clinical trials to test the effect of hormone replacement with hGH and sex steroids on healthy adults 65 and older. This is likely because they recognize that fully 40 % of adults over 60 have IGF-I levels the same as growth stunted children or individuals suffering from pituitary damage. The studies began in 1992 and ended in June of 1997. The preliminary results were presented at the June 1999 annual international meeting of endocrinologists called ENDO ‘99. During our discussions with the principal investigators of the studies, it became clear that the beneficial results of Dr. Rudman’s study were confirmed and many more benefits with regard to psychological well-being have been published since then.

What to Expect from hGH Therapy
The amount of hGH we prescribe and the benefits you can expect depend on your starting level of IGF-I. Most people over the age of 35 will have a level less than the optimal level of 350 to 400 ng/ml and therefore will benefit from supplementation.

Once on therapy, the benefits you can expect are as follows:

 Decreased fat mass, 10 to 14 percent after approximately 6 months, predominantly around the waist, without change in diet and exercise
 Increased lean muscle mass of approximately 7 to 10 percent in the first six months of therapy
 Improved bone density after one year of therapy, percentage increase depending on how deficient it was to start with
 Improved cardiac and lung function, lowered blood pressure
 Increased physical and mental energy level
 Increased hydration of the skin with reduced propensity to develop wrinkles
 Accelerated wound healing
 Increased immune system functioning, including re-growth of the thymus (the gland important in the function of T-cells)
 Decreased total and LDL cholesterol levels, and increased HDL levels
 Improved sleep
 Improved vision
 Improved mood

The degree to which you see these improvements will depend on your level of growth hormone deficiency as measured by your IGF-I level and clinical exam. If your level is below 100 ng/ml, you will likely see significant changes in body composition in the first six months. If you have a higher level, the effect of the supplementation will be to prevent these age-related changes from occurring.

Safety of hGH Replacement Therapy
There is ample evidence to support the safety of growth hormone replacement therapy in growth hormone deficient adults (GHDA). In fact, Dr. Bengtsson has said, “When one does not abuse or overdose human growth hormone, there is simply NO evidence suggesting that human growth hormone replacement therapy causes ANY LONG TERM side effects.” (Hormone Research, 43, p 93-99, 1995, emphasis added) Therefore, in August of 1996, the FDA approved the use of hGH in growth hormone deficient adults. Because the body composition changes and IGF-I levels are similar in a GHDA and an older adult, we believe that the same safety profile pertains. Moreover, none of the NIA long-term studies of growth hormone replacement in older adults were stopped because of adverse effects. Finally, data was presented at the ENDO ’99 meeting showing no adverse effects in a small number of growth hormone deficient adults on therapy for 10 years.

The Problem of Dose
You may have read about the result of a study done by Maxime Papadakis, MD, at Stanford University in which another group of elderly men were given hGH and a high incidence of side effects occurred. These men were given hGH in much higher doses than necessary to get the body composition changes expected and it was given only three times a week. Many studies have been done on GHDAs and it is now known that the subcutaneous hGH injections must be given once or twice a day at a 50 to 25 percent lower dose. There are virtually no significant side effects at this dose, except occasionally a few days of joint aching or ankle swelling in the initial period of therapy.

Growth Hormone is not for everybody; depending on the dose, hGH supplementation can cost $700 – $1200 per month. Its only effective route of administration is subcutaneous injection (under-the-skin), which must be done daily in small doses. However, there is no other hormone that even comes close to achieving the benefits of HGH. "