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rhGH, Safety, Toxicity and Questions about Cancer Barbara Brewitt, Ph.D., Human growth hormone’s (hGH) significant growth effects and its prevention of cell death within the body are well documented, and thus injectable forms of hGH are used by those people who can afford these expensive prescription “Youth Formulas.” Now, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical studies on a homeopathic chewable hGH tablet demonstrate that its use results in increased energy and vigor for life, increased mental concentration, increased lean body mass, fat loss, improved body shape, reduced anger, reduced anxiety and reduced pain (Alternative & Complementary Therapies 1999, 5:373-385). Is there an increased risk of cancer when taking hGH, if there are such profound effects on growth and physiological function? Isn’t it true that hGH raises blood levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), high levels of which are associated with prostate and breast cancer? These very important questions cannot be answered without an understanding of the principles of homeopathy and of growth hormone’s effects on human physiology. HGH has very powerful effects throughout the body and the mind, and thus is highly regulated via complex feedback mechanisms. It is secreted from immune cells such as macrophages and lymphocytes, but more importantly, it is secreted in large quantities from the pituitary gland during times of fuel shortage to switch the body’s fuel use of carbohydrates and proteins to the burning of fat reserves. Secretion occurs in discreet pulses under the positive feedback of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) and the negative feedback of somatostatin. GHRH is a neuropeptide located in the hypothalamus that flows to the pituitary gland and stimulates release of hGH. Somatostatin is also a neuropeptide located in the hypothalamus that flows to the pituitary gland and inhibits the release of hGH. Once GHRH is stimulated, somatostatin is also released to maintain tight control of hGH secretion. Each feedback loop of the hypothalamus is also influenced by signals arising from emotions, diet, hormones, neurotransmitters and exercise, as well as signals from itself (hGH) and/or IGF-1. Thus, it is easy to appreciate that hGH plays an important role for many parts of the body and is not simple to control. Peak release of hGH occurs at specific times throughout the late afternoon and sleeping hours in men, with different, more evenly dispersed pulse secretion patterns in women. Once hGH is pulse-secreted into the bloodstream, it is carried via a binding protein from the pituitary to the liver, which consequentially produces IGF-1. IGF-1 carries out most of growth hormone’s anabolic effects by stimulating increased DNA synthesis, RNA synthesis, and increased uptake of extra-cellular proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates, and simple sugars. Growth hormone prevents cell death, a very important counter balance to cell growth. In order to maintain healthy balance within the body, the processes of building up (anabolic processes) and tearing down (catabolic processes) need to occur in a balanced manner, which is called homeostasis. If homeostasis is changed too dramatically or too rapidly the body is placed in a vulnerable situation and can be a target for disease and discomfort. Aging is a reality; however, the speed of aging can be slowed down and there can be grace in the process, versus pain and agony. There are two hGH disturbances that help us to understand the dangers of excessive growth hormone; these are called gigantism and acromegaly. Both excesses of hGH result in diseases with a host of abnormal metabolic changes, such as glucose intolerance, occasional diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, respiratory difficulty, decreased bone mineral density, arrthymias and hypertension. Most striking in acromegaly is the enlargement of heart, lungs, liver, thymus and spleen with excess growth of bones, adrenals, thyroid and parathyroid. Hyperthyroidism can consequentially result, in addition to hyperglycemia and glucosuria. Most notable of the abnormalities of excess hGH is early hypersexual drive, followed by later gonadal atrophy, impotence and amenorrhea. Clearly, excessive hGH leads to continual abnormal growth of cells without enough of the counter-balancing effects that lead to homeostasis. A higher rate of cancer is not one of the complicating issues of excess hGH in people with these conditions. No direct correlation has been found by clinicians or researchers between the use of recombinant(1) hGH (rhGH) and the onset of cancer. One research study on the local communication of cells in prostate tissue specimens shows that the cause of prostate cancer is not hGH; however, once in an overgrowth phase, the prostate can respond to hGH with greater cell proliferation. This study concludes that caution should be used when using hGH to increase blood levels beyond the normal reference range. However, in the patients with acromegaly, where hGH blood levels are increased beyond the normal reference range, there is benign overgrowth of prostate cells, not higher incidences of prostate cancer. Most research studies that evaluate cancer risk by measuring hGH and IGF-1 in the blood or tissues conclude that it is the mechanisms regulating hGH and IGF-1 balance within the body that are the problem, not hGH or IGF-1. This means that the feedback loops and the “controllers of those feedback loops” within the body are the source of cancer, not the “effector molecule” such as hGH. There has been only limited research on the long-term effects of hGH injections. Two large studies were conducted, one in Europe with 1,034 people using hGH injections for growth hormone deficiency, and one in Japan on long-term usage of injectable hGH in 32,000 children. In Europe, the researchers concluded, after review of more than 800 patient-years, that injectable hGH can be used safely when individual dosing is considered versus basing the hGH dose on body weight. In Japan, after studying the effects of injectable hGH on children 0-15 years old, the researchers concluded that leukemia was not an increased risk of treatment unless a child had one of several risk factors. The risk factors were Fanconi’s anemia, or previous radiation or chemotherapy, in which case there was a greater risk for leukemia in children using injectable hGH. The conclusions from both of these very large clinical studies are consistent with the findings from the three double-blind placebo controlled clinical studies on homeopathic hGH. Findings from these studies were that sex, age, gender and health status at the start of treatment impacted how much, how frequently and how well a person responded to homeopathic hGH chewable tablets. There are a few studies on people with cancer, compared to others without cancer. Since hGH prevents cell death, it is only logical to study the out-of-balance situation of increased hGH with regard to cancer risk. It was found that high levels of hGH drive the body into greater levels of growth, adding stress to those systems that are trying to provide negative feedback to the pituitary and decrease the excessive presence of hGH within the bloodstream. However, greater growth does not always equate to cancer. Clinical studies of 69 healthy older persons compared to 68 older persons with lung cancer, over 2 years, found that it was not levels of hGH or IGF-1 that were important, but rather the circadian rhythms that were significantly correlated to the cancer. Healthy people had normal circadian rhythms of hGH secretions, whereas cancer patients had no circadian releases of hGH. Lung cancer patients had progressive increases in blood levels of hGH and decreases in blood levels of IGF-1. Thus, there were altered patterns in the feedback loops and the signaling between hGH and IGF-1 in these cancer patients. I conclude that those people who are trying to “turn back the clock” too fast will end up disrupting the internal balancing forces within the body. Our physiology is best regulated through natural rhythms of metabolism comprised of both anabolic and catabolic processes. The body needs to do both to utilize nutrients correctly. Without these rhythms, disharmony happens within the body. Closer examination of the reports that people with prostate or breast cancer have higher levels of IGF-1 in their blood show that this relationship is “guilt by association.” It is well known that high amounts of IGF-1 in the blood are associated with increased inflammation; however, the IGF-1 is not the “cause” of the inflammation. Thus, blood levels of IGF-1 may be a good marker for identification of cancer, rather than the cause. High levels of IGF-1 are also associated with decreased immune function, thus it may be unwise to raise blood levels of IGF-1 way above normal levels, as was reported in the Science 1998 retrospective study associating prostate cancer with IGF-1. The men in that study men had three times the normal levels of IGF-1 in their blood, thus although the men were near 60 years old, their blood levels of IGF-1 were near those of an 18-year-old. Toxicity caused by too much hGH is a greater concern than cancer. In the 1930s, Sir Frank Young produced permanent diabetes in dogs by disrupting their internal balancing forces. He administered consistently increased doses of approximately 600 to 1000 milligrams (mg) of active GH over a 20-day time period to dogs that weighed approximately 33 pounds. The dogs developed diabetes very rapidly, and even after the growth hormone was no longer delivered to them, their diabetes never went away. A permanent state of disruption occurred that injured the pancreas and destroyed feedback control mechanisms. In the early 1990s, clinical studies on injectable rhGH also caused permanent insulin-dependent diabetes in HIV-infected individuals trying to gain lean body mass. Other double-blind placebo controlled studies with HIV-infected individuals injecting hGH and IGF-1 caused more loss of lean mass, loss of weight and even death than occurred in the placebo group. Higher than normal concentrations of these hormones in the body obviously lead to imbalances that can be toxic and life threatening. Safe use of homeopathic hGH is an issue of balance, homeostasis, within the body. Homeopathy is an extremely well-known medical practice used for its ability to bring the body back into balance through better regulation of feedback loops. The concepts of self-defense and self-recovery are central to the Law of Similars of homeopathy. Where there are overactive signals for cell growth, homeopathic substances lower these signals to quiet down cell activity. Where there are underactive signals for cell growth, homeopathic signals stimulate greater activity. The fundamental philosophy of Samuel Hahnemann was to awaken the natural intelligence within the body by providing just the right homeopathic stimulus. Each drug has a characteristic profile that evokes “guiding symptoms” in people testing it. It is those “guiding symptoms” that assist people with self-diagnosed symptoms to determine which homeopathic substances to select and use. The best way to select the right homeopathic medicine for an individual is to select the one evoking the most symptoms that match that person’s unique condition. Unfortunately, the inverse—selecting a medicine first and then worrying about any additional symptoms that might occur in response to selecting the incorrect medicine—too often occurs. Growth hormone’s specific effects are targeted to sites on the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, liver, skin, brain, lung, gut, heart, immune cells, prostate, uterus and eyes. While too much hGH can elicit adverse effects in these areas, the correct dose of homeopathic hGH could be profoundly beneficial to healing and improving immune, nervous and hormonal function. The clinical studies recently published suggest that since oral tablets of homeopathic hGH provide some of the same benefits of injectable hGH, the same type of cycling pattern needs to be used to achieve optimal effects without side effects. A dosing schedule of 3-4 days/ week with equal days of no treatment/ week may be ideal for long term use without any fears of physiological complications over the long term. The following symptoms of hGH deficiency are easy to observe, and if you experience any cluster of symptoms, note that you might benefit from homeopathic hGH tablets:
Once the symptoms above pass, a person should readjust the dosing to either nothing or the cycling pattern of 3-4 days of use and 3-4 days of resting, without use of homeopathic hGH. It is good to try simulating the rhythms in the body. It is important to respect the fact that homeopathic recombinant human growth hormone is considered a safe, non-toxic drug, not a supplement, by the FDA. Natural healing and homeopathic drugs are designed to awaken the body’s life force; that is just an old-fashioned way to say that the immune, nervous and hormonal systems can be awakened by subtle energies. Once they are awakened and performing, honor the body’s life force. A little of something goes along way toward long term health and long term healing. (1) Due to contamination of human pituitary extract which historically had caused highly degenerative nervous system diseases, the FDA now requires pharmaceutical companies to use modern biotechnology for hormone replacement treatments. This process is called 'recombinant' which means that the known DNA sequence that codes for the hGH protein molecule can be made safely without contamination by 'combining' natural sugars and specialized proteins together. After this DNA sequence is made by 'combining' the sequence is 'read' by natural yeast or bacteria which consequentially produce 'human growth hormone' that is exactly like that which our bodies make in the pituitary. This FDA approved process is safe, guaranteeing no contamination, and is called 'recombinant DNA technology'. This is the safest process used today by modern biotechnology. |
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