Like many other hormones, the human growth hormone is another famous hormone that can be given to a person artificially. Many drug companies are manufacturing it. But how HGH development by drug companies started? Keep reading if you want to find out.
Human Growth Hormone, as you can probably tell by the name this hormone is mainly used to help develop the body. It is produced by the body in the pituitary gland.
A measure of the HG hormone shows that it peaks during puberty, in both genders. This is about 150 ug/kg a day.
After 35 years, the pituitary starts secreting less and less HG hormone. It’s estimated that the progressive decline in the manufacture of this hormone dwindles by 15% every decade.
As per research findings from Medscape, the pituitary gland, a diminutive gland situated at the base of the brain, assumes the role of producing and releasing Human Growth Hormone (HGH). The aging process naturally encompasses changes in various hormonal processes within the body, and the functioning of the pituitary gland is no exception to these age-related alterations.
By age 55, the average HG production per measure is a meager 25 ug/kg per day. After this age, the body stops producing this hormone in the same numbers.
The volume produced is too low to support body functions. Yet the demand for the HGH is still high in the body.
So, to fulfill the body’s Human Growth Hormone requirements people need to take Human Growth Hormone supplements. However, the question that a lot of people ask is how exactly the development of artificial Human Growth Hormone started.
If we go back a few decades, we come to know that scientists have known about this hormone since the 1920s. In 1927, a scientist known as Smith demonstrated that a substance produced in the pituitary glands is vested with body growth.
Many other scientists then experimented with this substance in rats and humans.
However, drug companies only started to produce Human Growth Hormones in the mid-1980s. The first establishment to begin this process is a drug company by the name of Eli Lilly and a biotech firm known as Genentech.
They jointly started developing Human Growth Hormones by using recombinant bacteria. This involved inserting the human HGH gene into a plasmid (a small circular piece of DNA) and then transferring the plasmid into bacteria or yeast cells that could produce the hormone.
By modifying the gene code of the bacteria the company was able to produce Human Growth Hormone with little contamination. Still, the company initiated a simple but continuous process of production.
Before this technique was invented, scientists used to isolate HGH from the pituitary gland in humans and then harvest it. This technique produced less HGH and also came with a lot of risks.
In accordance with the report from the National Museum of American History, the process of acquiring Human Growth Hormone (HGH) from human pituitary glands was fraught with challenges, primarily stemming from the constrained availability of source material. The pituitary glands needed for this method had to be harvested from deceased donors, resulting in an inconsistent and limited supply of these vital glands.
Before this technique was introduced, the only way companies were able to harvest Human Growth Hormone was through humans, and that caused many problems and was later banned.
These were some of the main things that you need to know about Human Growth Hormone development and how drug companies started doing it.
The first clinical trials of rHGH began in the early 1980s, and by the mid-1980s, Genentech and Eli Lilly had both developed their versions of the drug.
Protropin, the Genentech drug, and Humatrope, the Eli Lilly drug, were both approved by the FDA in 1985 and quickly became popular treatments for children with growth hormone deficiency.
One of the advantages of rHGH over natural HGH extracted from human pituitary glands was that it was less expensive to produce and could be made in larger quantities. This made it possible to treat more patients with growth hormone deficiency and also led to the development of other HGH drugs for other conditions.
For example, Nutropin, another Genentech drug, was approved by the FDA in 1987 for the treatment of Turner syndrome. This is a genetic disorder that affects growth and development in girls.
Around the same time, Saizen, a drug developed by Serono, was approved in 1995 for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency in adults. And Norditropin, developed by Novo Nordisk, was approved in 1995 for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency in children and adults.
This is considered to be one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs. The medication has since been used in many cases and it has helped many people since then.
Many children in the world are unable to grow normally because their body does not produce enough HGH. However, with the help of these techniques, they can reverse the slow progression and turn into normal height adults.
As per research findings presented by Kids Health, HGH therapy has demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in aiding children with Human Growth Hormone (HGH) deficiencies to overcome stunted growth and ultimately attain a typical adult height. The therapy’s success can be attributed to its capability to activate the growth plates, fostering catch-up growth, and leading to more typical and healthier growth trajectories.
Over the years, HGH has also been used off-label for a variety of other purposes. People intend to slow aging progress, and sports men use the synthetic variant of HGH.
So, its application is prominent in anti-aging, bodybuilding, and performance enhancement. However, the use of HGH for these purposes is controversial and potentially dangerous.
Still, they have been abused. As such, the misuse has led to a variety of side effects, including joint pain, fluid retention, and insulin resistance.
In recent years, there has also been concern about the use of HGH as a performance-enhancing drug in professional sports. Several high-profile athletes have been accused of using HGH or other performance-enhancing drugs.
This has led to cheating in sports. Consequently, some athletes have been suspended or banned from competition as a result.
SIMILAR QUESTION
Who Invented Human Growth Hormone?
Human growth hormone (HGH) is a naturally occurring hormone that is responsible for controlling the growth and development of the human body. It is produced by the anterior pituitary gland located at the base of the brain and is released into the bloodstream. HGH plays an important role in regulating body composition, body fluids, muscle and bone growth, sugar and fat metabolism, and possibly even heart function.
The first scientific understanding of HGH began in the late nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century, scientists began to explore methods to artificially produce HGH in a laboratory. The first person to successfully extract the hormone from human cadavers was Canadian biochemist Ernest Starling in the early 1920s.
In 1958, the American biochemist Dr. Maurice Raben and his colleagues discovered how to produce HGH synthetically. This discovery was a major breakthrough in the medical field and led to the development of many treatments and therapies for various conditions affecting the growth and development of the human body.
Due to the complexity of HGH production, it was not until 1985 that scientists were able to produce HGH in a recombinant form. This allowed the use of HGH in medical treatments and therapies, such as for children with growth hormone deficiencies.
In conclusion, the first person to successfully extract HGH from human cadavers was Canadian biochemist Ernest Starling in the early 1920s. However, it was not until the American biochemist Dr. Maurice Raben and his colleagues in 1958 that scientists were able to produce HGH synthetically and eventually in a recombinant form in 1985.
