History of Human Growth Hormone
Human growth hormone, or HGH, is produced by the pituitary gland. Human growth hormone does more than regulate growth. It regulates other glands in the body, especially those that produce estrogen and testosterone. Human growth hormone is used to treat conditions that prevent children from growing. Another controversial use of HGH is as a performance-enhancing drug in sports. Recent research has also shown that HGH can extend the life and vitality of the elderly.
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Early History
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Problems associated with low levels of human growth hormone have been known for some time. Early attempts to treat this condition involved refining and concentrating bovine growth hormone, both to treat growth and development issues and to treat diabetes. Because of differences in the structure of the two hormones, treatments were unsuccessful.
Refined Pituitary HGH
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The early history of experimentation with human growth hormone began in the 1950s by injecting ground-up pituitary glands, taken from cadavers, into children who were not growing normally. The problem with this method of delivering HGH was the limited supply of cadavers and the risk of transmitting diseases, such as the human variant of mad cow disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome.
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Synthetic Human Growth Hormone
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In 1981, the pharmaceutical company Genentech developed the first synthetic human growth hormone using recombinant DNA technology. Several generations of this hormone have resulted in the modern drug Somatropin. Somatropin is more effective than the older ground up pituitary glands, is easier to produce and carries none of the risk of Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome.
Use in Sports
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Athletes sometimes take HGH to increase muscle size. This increase in muscle size results in an increase in strength, and therefore in athletic performance. It is more effective in increasing performance in sports where quick bursts of muscular power are desired, and where the muscles are allowed to recover after exertion. Artificially increasing HGH in the body might have temporary performance increases, but there are severe side effects, including increases in the size of the jaw and brow, enlarged tongue, and damage to the heart, liver and kidneys.
Use in the Elderly
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Research has shown that in some cases, injections of human growth hormone into the elderly, to replace the HGH that was present in younger years, can help reverse some aspects of the aging process. Research in the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark showed promising results for the elderly from HGH replacement therapy. In 1996, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of synthesized HGH as a replacement therapy for the elderly.
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- Photo Credit Photo: Iwan Beijes, stock.xchng
