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Human Growth Hormone (hGH)
Formally known as: Growth Hormone (GH)
Also known as: somatotropin, somatotrophin, somatropin, somatotrophic hormone, and somatotropic hormone.
Trade Names: Genotropin ®, Humatrope ®, Norditropin ®, Nutropin ®, Saizen ®, Serostim ®.
It's been called the the "fountain of youth", "cosmetic surgery in a bottle", "reverse the effects of aging", "youth elixir", "the ultimate anti aging supplement known to medical science", "an anti aging breakthrough", "turning back the clock", and it has been said that "hGH is the magic tonic that returns your body to the shape it was in when you were in your twenties."
Human growth hormone (hGH) is a naturally occurring polypeptide hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland (the pituitary gland is the master gland, located in the center of the brain) that stimulates the release of another hormone called somatomedin by the liver, promoting growth in humans.
hGH is a very complex hormone which consists of 191 amino acids. hGH is the largest protein created by the pituitary gland. hGH causes growth and repair of body tissues including the muscles, the skin, and the kidneys, brain function, healing, physical and mental health, bone strength, energy and metabolism.
hGH is essential for bone and organ growth in our youth. Too little causes dwarfism - too much hGH causes gigantism (in children).
Everyone naturally has hGH in their body from birth. Daily secretion of hGH increases in our bodies throughout childhood, reaches its peak in the body during adolescence, then slowly decreases with age. It is very clear that hGH starts to decrease sometime after age 15 and 20 and continues to do so quite rapidly. As we get older hGH continues to diminish to the point where the body makes 25% of what it did at the age of 20.
Although hGH is no longer needed for growth after reaching adulthood, hGH is essential for many other vital functions, and the significantly lowered levels seen as we age are thought to be correlated with everything from diminished energy to weight gain (fat) and decreased muscle mass.
If you are between the ages of 35 and 70, your body is naturally producing only a tiny percentage of growth hormone than it was in your late teens. In men, hGH secretion can decline by 50% every 7 years after age 20.
At 70, the body only produces 10% of the original amount of hGH daily. This deprives the body of what it needs for tissue, bone, and muscle regeneration.
Even though hGH secretion declines with age, hGH secretion does not stop after adolescence, our body continues to produce hGH in pulses throughout a 24 hour period, but the majority is released during the beginning phases of sleep.
In 1985, synthetic hGH was developed and approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for specific uses, but it is commonly abused by athletes, bodybuilders, and aging adults for its ability to increase muscle mass and decrease body fat, as well as its purported potential to improve athletic performance and reverse the effects of aging.
Chemistry and Pharmacology of hGH
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