What is HGH?
HGH is often promoted as a fountain of youth that helps delay, slow down,
or reverse the aging process. HGH is also used by bodybuilders and athletes
to increase lean muscle mass and in sports such as basketball, to grow taller.
The comprehensive HGH information provided below is based in large part on
scientific studies and provides detailed information on what HGH can and
cannot do.
The most common form of HGH used today is synthetic HGH. Prior to the development
of synthetic HGH, HGH was harvested from the pituitaries of cadavers. The
use of pituitary harvested HGH created a pathway for diseases to pass from
the cadaver to the person taking the HGH. Fortunately, the development of
synthetic HGH eliminated this problem
The amino acid sequence of synthetic HGH is identical to that of
pituitary-derived human growth hormone. The protein is synthesized by a specific
laboratory strain of E. coli as a precursor consisting of the rhGH molecule
preceded by the secretion signal from an E. coli protein. This precursor
is directed to the plasma membrane of the cell. The signal sequence is removed
and the native protein is secreted into the periplasm so that the protein
is folded appropriately as it is synthesized.
Synthetic HGH is therapeutically equivalent to pituitary-derived human GH
(hGH). Pediatric patients who lack adequate endogenous GH secretion, patients
with chronic renal insufficiency, and patients with Turner syndrome who are
treated with Synthetic HGH experience an increase in growth rate and an increase
in insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels similar to that seen with
pituitary-derived hGH. |