Death By Growth Hormone by Jerry Brainum 10/23

 

 

Human Growth hormone (GH) is of great interest to bodybuilders and athletes because of its reputed muscle-building effects, and even in those not involved in exercise or sports because of its reputation as a "youth hormone" capable of turning back the biological clock.But much of what is circulated about the true effects of growth hormone is patently false or is misrepresented. The situation in this regard has worsened with the advent of the Internet and social media. But the truth is that false claims have been made about GH for years even before the Internet became popular. From the perspective of bodybuilders, one statement often made about GH is that it's so potent at helping to rid the body of excess body fat that using it allows you to consume any quantity of food without paying the usual price of excess fat deposition. As in many things about GH, that seemingly hyperbolic statement does offer a bit of truth. GH does affect body composition and under certain circumstances, it can help reduce excess body fat levels. But the notion that using any quantity of GH will permit anyone to consume unlimited calories with impunity is silly nonsense.

Growth hormone first became popular in bodybuilding in the early 80s. Although rumors have circulated that it was used much earlier, such rumors are false, with the exception of GH being given to children with growth defects in the late 50s. The initial form of GH used by bodybuilders and athletes was developed by a Swedish drug company, which obtained GH harvested from cadaver or dead people's pituitary glands, the site of GH synthesis in the body. The brand name for this initial form of GH was Crescorman, and since it didn't become available until the late 70s, it wasn't available to any bodybuilders or athletes. Some early forms of GH were also obtained from the pituitary glands of animals, such as monkeys and cows. But since GH is species-specific, these animal forms of GH had no effect on humans. The first GH product targeted for human usage, Crescormon, was later found to be possibly contaminated by an infective organism called prions that could cause a fatal brain disease called Creuzfeldt Jacob Disease that led to a prolonged and agonizing death. This problem led to the development of new technology that produced GH from a recombinant DNA process involving bacteria. The company that produced this new form of GH was Genentech, and their GH product was called Protropin. This occurred in 1985, and the recombinant DNA form of GH replaced the previous cadaver-derived form and has been used ever since. In the ensuing years, a number of other drug companies began selling their own version of recombinant DNA-GH under various trade names. One problem with the original recombinant GH produced and sold as Protropin was that it wasn't exactly identical . . .