Humans have long dreamed of a wonder drug, something to help us stay young and energetic forever simply by swallowing a pill or drinking a magic potion. Some think that injections of human growth hormone might be that secret ingredient to eternal youth. However, there are some very serious considerations that must be taken into account before using HGH injections. In this article we will discuss the science behind HGH injections, how they are made, some of the most popular brands, and concerns about their effects. In addition, we will discuss the science and effects of prescription HGH releaser injections such as Egrifta.
Why Use HGH Injections?
Human growth hormone (HGH) is produced in the pituitary gland at the base of the brain, and from there it is secreted into the bloodstream in regular cycles, most often when we are asleep. As children, our brains generate high amounts of HGH to help us grow up, and while we grow the hormone also keeps our cells, tissues and organs functioning as they should. However, the amount of HGH that our bodies produce drops dramatically when we are twenty to when we are sixty. According to one source, our HGH total can drop from 700 units per day to 400 units per day, or even lower. Scientists are finding evidence, starting from a 1990 study in the New England Journal of Medicine, that this decline in HGH can contribute to many of the problems of aging and many now theorize that increasing the amount of HGH that the body produces can reverse, or at least reduce, those problems.
Furthermore, there are individuals with medical conditions relating to a deficiency in HGH. Growth hormone deficiency is more common in children than in adults. For adults, the deficiency usually comes from tumors in the brain or radiation treatment for those tumors, as well as from growth hormone deficiency that began while they were children. This can result in male baldness, memory loss, reduced sex drive, lower energy strength, a higher amount of body fat, raised cholesterol, and even cardiac dysfunction, according to one authority.
For children, the growth hormone deficiency is also present in disorders such as Prader-Willi Syndrome and Turner Syndrome, idiopathic short stature, Noonan Syndrome, chronic kidney disease, short stature homeobox-containing gene deficiency, or in infants who are small for their gestational age as another expert explains. Adults who suffer from wasting as a result of AIDS also can benefit from HGH replacement. Many authoritative sources say that these deficiencies can lead to lack of growth, delayed puberty, weight gain, frontal recession, sparse hair, and maxillary hypoplasia, which is over-development of the jaw. Injections of artificial HGH can replace some of the hormone deficiency and lessen the effects of these disorders. Adults who suffer from wasting as a result of AIDS also can benefit from HGH replacement.
How Are HGH Injections Manufactured?
Recombinant DNA
The first growth hormone injections occurred in the 1950s. The hormone was extracted from the pituitary glands of corpses, and after purification, injected into individuals suffering from growth hormone deficiencies. However, because the supply of the hormone was limited and few physicians were trained to provide it, wikipedia claims that only around 7,700 children in the US, and 27,000 children in other parts of the world were given these injections between the years of 1963 and 1985. Furthermore, scientists eventually became aware that using hormone extracted from corpses may have increased patients vulnerability to Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. (This is a fatal disorder similar to mad cow disease that causes the brain to deteriorate.) Between 1985 and 2003, twenty-six of the 7,700 American individuals who had received HGH from the pituitary glands of corpses developed Creutzfeldt-Jacob.
In 1981, a Swedish company called Kabi and Genentech, an American corporation, created recombinant human growth hormone (rHGH). Recombinant HGH is a synthetic form of the hormone made from recombinant DNA technology. Under this technology, as one authority explains, DNA sequences from different sources are cut out from their original molecules by restriction enzymes, and then brought together in forms not found in nature. DNA from an outside source is tied to host DNA sequences that cause the host DNA to be replicated. This method allows both sets of DNA to be replicated at the same time by the host. In the case of rHGH, human DNA is implanted in bacteria, and then the protein is replicated repeatedly. The process creates a form of rHGH that works in the human body, but is quick and easy to reproduce. In the years since rHGH was first produced, none of the growth hormone-deficient patients that have received injections have developed Creutzfeld-Jacob disease.
What Are the Ingredients in rHGH Injections?
Genentech created Protropin, the first brand of rHGH injection, in 1985 and stopped offering it for sale in 2004. It was made from somatrem, which is a type of synthetic growth hormone with 192 amino acids. These include the usual one 191 acids that are found in somatropin, the more common form of HGH, with the addition of methionine, which helps build proteins and provides sulfur and methyl to regulate the metabolism. According to Mayo, human DNA was tied to e-coli bacteria in order to create Protropin rHGH. Protropin was a white powder intended to be injected under the skin. It contained somatrem, mannitol, and sodium phosphates. Bacteriostatic Water with benzyl alcohol was used to purify it, and sometimes phosphoric acid was used to adjust the substances pH, according to RXlist.com.
Somatropin, Mayo explains, is a form of synthetic HGH with 191 amino acids. This is the same number of acids that natural HGH contains, but like Protropin it is generated from tying human DNA to e-coli.The most popular brands of somatropin include Genotropin, Saizen, Norditropin, Humatrope, Accretropin, Tev-Tropin and Omnitrope. These products contain substances such as mannitol, sodium chloride, Phenol (as a preservative), benzyl alcohol, sodium dihydrogen phosphate dihydrate, glycine, disodium hydrogen phosphate heptahydrate, Bacteriostatic Water, sucrose, phosphoric acid, dibasic sodium phospate, glycerin, sodium dihydrogen phosphate anhydrous, and disodium phosphate anhydrous. Most of the rHGH products are available in the form of a white powder that must be injected subcutaneously, but Omnitrope and Accretropin come as liquid solutions, Rxlist.com explains.
What Is Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone?
Products such as Egrifta contain growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH). However, wikipedia explains that unlike Protropin and Genotropin, these injections do not replace deficient amounts of human growth hormone with rHGH. Instead, they contain artificially-created human growth hormone releasing factor, or HGHRF. GHRH is a hormone consisting of forty-four amino acids produced by the hypothalamus in the human brain. It travels to the pituitary gland in regular cycles and stimulates it to produce HGH, as well as promoting slow-wave sleep, the level of sleep in which the pituitary releases the highest amounts of HGH. Because they are not intended to insert HGH into the body, but rather to promote the secretion of the hormone by the fully-operational pituitary gland, they are not used to treat growth hormone deficiencies. Instead, they are most often prescribed for lipodystrophy, or the degenerative or abnormal condition of human fat tissue, especially in individuals with HIV.
Egrifta contains tesamorelin, an acetate salt that contains the identical sequence of amino acids to GHRH, and mannitol, experts say. Other sources add that tesamorelin can also contain sodium chloride and both dibasic and monobasic sodium phosphate. The acetate is available in the form of powder, intended to be injected under the skin. Older products used Sermorelin, which was another artifical form of GHRH although it only contained twenty-nine of the original forty-four amino acids. Wikipedia.org considers it the shortest fragment of GHRH that is fully functional, and it is still used to test levels of HGH secretion.
Are There Any Concerns about rHGH and rHGHRF?
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved rHGH injections for the use of patients who suffer from growth hormone deficiency-related disorders. However, experts warn that the injections are only legally available with a doctors prescription, and the FDA does prosecute those individuals who obtain them illegally.
There are concerns even for patients who are legally prescribed rHGH injections. One authority points out that for children, the injections must be taken daily, for at least as long as the child is growing. (For the more severe cases of growth hormone deficiency, the individual might have to use injections for the rest of his or her life.) The cost is usually from US$10,000 to $30,000 a year. In addition, while most children with growth hormone deficiency receive treatment, the majority of adults who suffer from those conditions do not. One common reason is that the adults do not wish to have to regularly experience the injections. Furthermore, a source argues that because the benefits of rHGH therapy are still considered uncertain by some scientists, many endocrinologists will not even prescribe the injections for adults except in the most severe cases.
Another major area of concern is the side effects that are associated with both rHGH and rHGHRF injections. According to one expert, women who are pregnant should not take Egrifta or other products that contain tesamorelin, because they can cause birth defects in the fetus. Furthermore, those with allergies to any of the ingredients, respiratory problems, recent trauma or surgery, kidney or liver disease, pressure in the head, diabetes, cancer, carpal tunnel syndrome, edema, or retinopathy must consult with their doctor before beginning to take rHGHRF. Sources claim that these products can cause fluid retention, changes in blood or urine sugar levels, and may cause red, itching skin, rash, hives, swelling of the hands, feet, lips or face, and shortness of breath. Some of the common side effects include pain in joints, muscles, arms, or legs, difficulty moving, and bleeding, coldness, blistering, skin discoloration, infection, soreness, stinging, or inflammation at the injection site. Meanwhile less common effects may include blurry vision, numbness or tingling, dizziness, fast or irregular pulse, nervousness, joint swelling, unsteadiness, weakness in the limbs, headache, pounding in the ears, chest pain, belching, sour stomach, lack of appetite, discouragement and depression, heartburn, loss of pleasure or interest, muscle spasms and strain, nausea, insomnia, fatigue, vomiting, upper abdominal pain, sweating, and lack of ability to concentrate.
Furthermore, there are various side effects associated with rHGH injections as well. According to some experts, these can include swelling of the limbs and face, bleeding gums, dizziness, nosebleeds and bleeding gums, joint pain, difficulty in moving, coughing up blood, rapid weight gain, red or dark urine or stools, tingling sensations in extremities, and skin discoloration. More rare side effects can include damage to vision, change in personality, bone pain or fracture, chills, constipation, headache, dry mouth, confusion, fever, an increase in thirst, hunger and urination, curvature of the spine, rapid pulse, indigestion, joint pain, loss of consciousness, vomiting, weakness, jaundice, seizures, nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, fatigue, tumors and skin lesions, and swelling of the breasts in both males and females. Furthermore, it may cause pressure in the head, pancreatitis, and fluid retention. The evidence about the injections effect on unborn children and nursing mothers is, as yet, inconclusive. For more on HGH side effects and risks read more here!
Experts warn that any individual who believes that rHGH or rHGHGF might be right for them should consult with a doctor before beginning treatment. However, even though these injections may not be the magical pill to keep us eternally young and healthy, their effects are very important for those who need some extra help to grow and become strong, and that makes them wonderful enough. However If you are considering HGH to only help you lose weight and feel younger and are not suffering from serious HGH defficiency then opting first for a natural HGH releaser like GHR1000, Genf20 Plus, Sytropin or Genfx might just be enough.
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