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What is Human Growth Hormone (HGH)? |
HGH is produced by the
pituitary gland. The ability of the pituitary gland to produce
HGH declines very little with aging in most people. The decline
with aging occurs one step back from the actual secretion of HGH
by the pituitary. There are at least 3 substances which control
HGH secretion: The production of HGH
is controlled by GHRH, GHRP, somatostatin, and other substances
in the body. The degree to which changes in the levels of each
of these substances is responsible for the decline in human
growth hormone varies from individual to individual, and is
somewhat gender-dependent. Pharmaceutical
companies have produced a number of other promising analogs of
ghrelin that restore the normal pulsatile release of growth
hormone without the other unwanted effects of ghrelin. These
substances include: Many of the above growth hormone releasing analogs of ghrelin are effective when taken orally. None of them are on the market anywhere in the world. Hexarelin is a peptide that is fairly easy to synthesize, and it is sometimes used outside of legitimate medical channels. The other substances on the above list are only available in rare clinical trials. The effects of HGH in the human body have been studied intensively for decades, but the factors that affect HGH production remain rather complex and mysterious. Part of the reason for this is that the quantities of these substances produced by the body are on the order of a milligram per day in adults. Most people only produce about a teaspoonful of these substances during their entire adult lives. To make the HGH situation even more complex, HGH is normally
released in pulses or bursts throughout the day. There are
usually 10 to 20 surges of HGH release, with the largest release
occurring shortly after you fall asleep. Is there any advantage
to having HGH released in pulses? Or is this simply the body's
most efficient way of producing HGH? Nobody knows the answer to
this important question, although there seems to be some
evidence that the pulsatile release of HGH is important for
human health. There are indications, however, that some of the ghrelin analogs or the GHRH analogs may be superior to ordinary HGH replacement. Ordinary HGH therapy does not increase insulin sensitivity or decrease glucose levels, although it logically should be expected to -- since it increases the level of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor number 1). IGF-1 decreases glucose levels, so there is something about the continuous presence of growth hormone that is offsetting this IGF-1 related decrease in blood glucose. When youthful pulsatile release of growth hormone is restored, often (most notably with Tesamorelin) the IGF-1 related decreasein blood glucose is seen in most people, as would be expected. With some people, however, blood glucose levels increase (at least in short-term studies). There are three basic ways for increasing HGH:
With current technology and available substances, taking a substance that increases the natural secretion of HGH generally works best for those between the ages of roughly 30 to 45 years. For most people over 45, injectable HGH is most effective -- and usually the only effective -- of the currently available options (although sermorelin works for some people). Tesamorelin looks very promising, but it is not known how widely available it will become. But let's look at these three methods in greater detail. There are a number of substances that increase the natural
secretion of HGH. Some of them are amino acids. The
relationship of certain amino acids to growth hormone is complex
and varies greatly among
different individuals and among individuals of
The most effective and economical way of causing this HGH release for many people seems to be taking 2 grams of the amino acid L-glutamine in the morning and taking 10 to 30 grams of the amino acid L-arginine before bedtime. Both of these amino acids must be taken on an empty stomach. Amino acids are generally not very effective in people over the age of about 40 to 45. In fact, for people over about the age of about 40 to 45, HGH increases due to amino acids may only be barely measurable on laboratory tests, and may have no real practical effect. There has been only one scientific study showing that L-glutamine causes HGH release, but there is a large body of anecdotal evidence from non-traditional physicians and their patients that L-glutamine is actually effective in most persons under about age 45. There is a large body of scientific study on the effects of
L-arginine on growth hormone release. In fact, the
administration of a large dose of L-arginine is a standard test
for the ability of the pituitary to release growth hormone.
(Another test using insulin is actually more effective, but it
is not accepted as the standard test by the U.S. Food and Drug There are several problems with the use of arginine and other amino acids as HGH releasers. Their effectiveness generally diminishes with age, and with continued use. This has led some people to the opinion that amino acids such as L-arginine are weak or ineffective HGH releasers. This can be a dangerous assumption. In some young people, L-arginine may actually cause dangerously high levels of HGH release. Many young people use L-arginine, but it should not be used by anyone until at least 5 years after they have completed their long bone growth (unless they are under close medical supervision). In order for your body to naturally produce HGH, or to produce HGH in response to certain amino acids, the following things must NOT be present:
Another long-acting analog of GHRH that looks very promising is CJC-1295, but that product is at least 3 years away from approval by government agencies. CJC-1295 maintains a much longer half-life in the human body by partially binding to albumin, an important protein that is prevalent in the human bloodstream. The one that has consistently worked the best is MK-0677 (ibutamoren mesylate), which is very effective in restoring HGH release in middle-aged and "normally-aging" elderly individuals to the levels of much younger people. MK-0677 is an oral medicine that restores the release of HGH in the pulsatile fashion characteristic of HGH release in young people. Unfortunately, it was not very effective in restoring HGH in the frail elderly, which was its original target market. It appears, in fact, that any form of HGH supplementation in the very frail elderly, and in the critically-ill elderly, is actually quite harmful. A considerable amount of research has been done on HGH releasers by the pharmaceutical companies, and some very promising substances have been developed, but there is no sign that any of them will be on the market anytime soon. MK-0677 (ibutamoren mesylate) is a substance, though, that seems to be too good to go away. It still appears in successful clinical trials from time to time. It recently completed another successful medical test in normally aging adults, and has been undergoing clinical trials for use in fibromyalgia.
Because of the news stories about athletes using excessive
doses of HGH, and of bodybuilders who use high doses of HGH in
an highly-experimental and In addition, a number of prominent and powerful individuals have attacked all forms of anti-aging medicine in recent years. If you would like to see the kind of future that these people want for you, visit a local nursing home. A nursing home for the elderly contains the largest concentration of severely growth-hormone-deficient people that you will find anywhere. Jerry Emanuelson For the complete version of this article you can visit Future Science. BACK TO SUPPLEMENTS INFORMATION |
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different
ages. All absolute and universal statements made about this
subject are clearly false.
Administration.) Most scientists believe that L-arginine
promotes HGH release by inhibiting somatostatin, and this has
been demonstrated in at least one scientific study. L-arginine
has many other benefits in addition to being a growth hormone
releaser. See the chapter of this manual on Arginine
In
a free market, MK-0677 (ibutamoren mesylate) would likely have
had a revolutionary impact on the health of most people over
40. In fact, it is possible that MK-0677 could have
revolutionized health care, prevented great human suffering, and
literally saved trillions of dollars in health care. Since a
free market in pharmaceuticals does not exist, MK-0677 will
probably remain a laboratory curiosity more many years.
medically-uncontrolled environment, governments at the state and
federal levels in the U.S. have cracked down on many physicians
who write too many HGH prescriptions. This has scared many
physicians away from prescribing HGH for new patients and has
made finding a physician
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