Townsend News, Letter 10/99

Homeopathic Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH)
Townsend News, Letter to the Editor - October 1999
Morton Walker’s TL/DP October 1999(1)

Editor:

Dr. Morton Walker’s article severely misrepresents clinical studies demonstrating the efficacy of homeopathic rhGH (HrhGH). Alternative medicine undergoes tremendous criticism because it fails to conduct rigorous double-blind, placebo controlled clinical studies on potentially dangerous herbs or homeopathic drugs(2). Dr. Walker deserves criticism when he claims benefits of injectable, prescription-only human growth hormone, as if those claims fit oral HrhGH. Furthermore, he gave inaccurate information on my double-blind, placebo controlled studies on homeopathic recombinant human growth hormone and then gave testimonials on HrhGH without ruling out the placebo effect. The placebo effect is huge when it comes to the topic of growth hormone. Growth hormone is a toxic drug that has resulted in diabetes and death when used inappropriately(3)(4). As the principal investigator of the below cited studies, I prefer the facts are represented correctly before this myth about NIH-funded studies on homeopathic rhGH and HIV grows any larger and goes any further.

Myth 1 – Created in Dr. Ron Klatz’s pamphlet Hormones of Youth and book Ten Weeks to a Younger You which are misrepresentations.

Dr. Walker states “NIH funded a study on volunteers using one dose of oral homeopathic rhGH three times a day for two to four weeks. The NIH-funded report stated that an 8-23% increase in the individual’s IGF-1 levels occurred, which provided these study participants with enhanced functioning of their metabolic, immune and nervous systems. Some also experienced elimination of joint pains, reduction of fat, and increased lean body mass.”

Fact 1 - I have worked at and received a grant from the NIH, there was never a NIH-funded study on HrhGH.

VitaLabs Inc. and Biomed Comm,^® Inc. (exclusive patent rights with additional patents pending) co-sponsored three different types of double blind and placebo-controlled clinical studies with 162 healthy people ages 18-72 years old on HrhGH. The results “Physiological and psychological benefits of homeopathic growth hormone” will be published in December’s peer-reviewed Alternative & Complementary Therapies.

Briefly, clinical studies demonstrated statistically significant increased energy, weight loss, decreased hip size, increased upper arm size, plus relieved joint and knee swelling compared to placebo. Two different HrhGH formulations were tested and gave different results in the following ways:

Placebo effects found through rigorous clinical study exactly match those reported in Dr. Walker’s testimonials. Another criticism of homeopathy is that the placebo effect causes people’s positive results. It’s time we move alternative medicine into clinical testing and peer-review publication.

Myth 2. - Created in Dr. Ron Klatz’s pamphlet Hormones of Youth and Ten Weeks to a Younger You which are misrepresentations.

The oral, homeopathic recombinant human growth hormone was tested in HIV-positive patients as well. This four month study which was double-blind and placebo-controlled found that … patients underwent decreased viral loads, increased or stabilized T4-cell counts, lowered measures of inflammation throughout the body, improved mineral metabolism, and greater amounts of weight gain. During the same period of time, the placebo group of HIV-infected patients found themselves disadvantaged….Based on this NIH investigation, therefore we see that HIV-positive patients respond to treatment with homeopathic, oral rhGH.”

Fact 2. - These studies on HIV-positive patients evaluated therapeutic efficacy of a combination of four homeopathic growth factors, not HrhGH.

I received top priority score and grant from the NIH/OAM to study efficacy of homeopathic IGF1 on HIV-related wasting not on HrhGH. I was the principal investigator on four clinical studies, two-double blind and placebo controlled and two all-treatment studies on HIV-infected individuals evaluating therapeutic efficacy of four homeopathic growth factors; IGF1, PDGF BB, TGF B1 and GM-CSF. Replication results from these clinical studies will be published in two chapters in AIDS and Alternative Medicine: The Current State of the Science editors, Leanna Standish, Carlo Calabrese, Mary Lou Galatino, Harcourt Brace, 1999. The studies were not funded by the NIH, but by investors in Biomed Comm,^® Inc who demand clinical testing and verification of safety of their patented CSE^® homeopathic products.

In summary, scientific studies on homeopathic recombinant human growth hormone demonstrate therapeutic efficacy from rigorous double-blind, placebo controlled testing. These findings have undergone the tortuous peer-review process and the patenting procedures that validate the Intellectual Property.

Barbara Brewitt, Ph.D.

References

(1) Walker, M. Special features of oral, homeopathic recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH). TL/DP, 1999, October:116-122
(2) Editor, Alternative medicine – the risks of untested and unregulated remedies. New England J. Med. 1998, 339:839-841
(3) Young, F.G. Studies on the fractionation of diabetogenic extracts of the anterior pituitary gland. Biochem. J. 1938; 32:524-533
(4) Lee PDK. Pivarnik JM. Bukar JG. Muurahainen N. Berry PS. Skolnik PR. Nerad JL. Kudsk KA Jackson L. Ellis KJ. Gesundheit N. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of combined insulin-like growth factor 1 and low dose growth hormone therapy for wasting associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1996; 81:2968-2975.