Gh-rh

Hormone Replacement Therapy

HGH Secretagogue

HGH Secretagogues and GH-RH

HGH Secretagogues are hormones, peptides, or other molecules that stimulate Human Growth Hormone production by the Anterior Pituitary Gland. The hormones that stimulate HGH Production most directly are Ghrelin and Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone.

Functionally-Identical and Biologically-Identical hormones such as Sermorelin Acetate also count as Secretagogues, although the human body does not produce them.

HGH and Hypopituitarism

Most patients suffer from Adult Human Growth Hormone Deficiency due to Hypopituitarism, meaning that their deficiency results from a reduced capacity of the pituitary to produce optimal levels of HGH.

Sometimes, Hypopituitarism is the result of medical issues relating directly to the function of the pituitary gland. Still, usually, Hypopituitarism leads to HGH Deficiency, is the result of changes in the level of stimulation occurring in the pituitary gland.

Secretagogues Boost HGH

Numerous studies show that most patients that suffer from Growth Hormone Deficiency still can produce Human Growth Hormone with stimulation by Secretagogues such as arginine or injected GH-RH. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved HGH Secretagogues for the treatment of Growth Hormone Deficiency that is the result of aging.

Still, there is promising initial research that seems to show some potential benefits for aging men and women across America. Off-label use of Sermorelin Acetate is legal in the United States, although the FDA has yet to give Sermorelin for Age-Related Growth Hormone Deficiency an official approval.

Secretagogues Stimulate Normal Patterns of HGH Secretion

Researchers are confident that Growth Hormone Secretagogue Therapy can provide a more physiologically natural form of Hormone Replacement Therapy than Growth Hormone HRT because Secretagogues such as Sermorelin Acetate stimulate the Pituitary to release Human Growth Hormone in a manner that is practically identical to the body's normal endogenous processes.

Although Human Growth Hormone Injections effectively increase Human Growth Hormone levels to normal, HGH Injections cause the hormone to be released slowly into the body at a constant rate.

Sermorelin and other Secretagogues elicit the production of HGH in stimulative pulses, which pass through the body quickly in the same manner that the pituitary gland naturally releases the hormone.

Injectable HGH Secretagogues allow the pituitary to function naturally, allowing Negative Feedback Mechanisms such as Somatostatin to regulate HGH Production, preventing HGH Overdose and unnatural cycling of Human Growth Hormone throughout the body.

Sermorelin Produces Rare and Minor Side Effects

Both Sermorelin Acetate Therapy and Human Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy produce the same variety of potential side effects. Still, GH-RH Replacement Therapy produces side effects more rarely and with less intensity. There is also evidence that some forms of Secretagogue can be taken nasally, transdermally, or orally (although Sermorelin Acetate must be injected)

Sermorelin Acetate Boosts IGF-1 Production

Daily Sermorelin Acetate Injections are effective at restoring the natural production of Human Growth Hormone to healthy and normal levels. In one study, Sermorelin Acetate injections were provided to patients to assess the ability of the hormone to restore Human Growth Hormone Production. After six months of Sermorelin Acetate treatment, participants were found to have Insulin-Like Growth Factor Levels that increased by around thirty-five percent.

As has been found with Human Growth Hormone Injections, Sermorelin Acetate injections lead to a drop in overall body fat and an increase in lean muscle mass. Although these benefits were discovered, there seemed to be no increase in aerobic ability or strength due to the injections. Other studies, however, have shown that GH-RH and HGH Hormone Replacement Therapy can improve exercise performance.

GH-RH Replacement Slows the Physical and Mental Decline Associated with Aging

One aspect of this study that should not be forgotten is that it deals primarily with older patients. One incredibly hopeful and intriguing result of the study was that, although the ability to go about the average physical actions of daily life did not increase as a result of therapy, it also did not decrease. Physical performance dropped significantly among participants that received placebo injections.

This suggests that the Sermorelin Acetate Injections and other HGH Secretagogue Treatment may have the ability to preserve average physical ability in aging men and women! Another study showed that after three months of Sermorelin Acetate Therapy, healthy older subjects showed an improvement in physical exercise ability.

Sermorelin Acetate Therapy also appears to have a highly beneficial effect on cognitive function, although its ability to improve sleep is inconclusive. In this study, Sermorelin Acetate Injections did not produce a significant effect on the patient's ability to sleep soundly.

Still, it does have the capacity to improve participants' scores of memory evaluation. GH-RH Hormone Therapy did not have an effect on long-term memory. Still, it did have the ability to improve both short-term and working memory, which seem to be partially correlated with the circulation of healthy levels of IGF-1.

Ghrelin and HGH

Ghrelin is another hormone that impacts the release of Human Growth Hormone. Ghrelin is secreted by the stomach and is one of the hormones primarily responsible for the feeling of hunger that occurs when the body recognizes a need for food.

Although Ghrelin does have a stimulative effect on Human Growth Hormone, it is also responsible for a number of different functions as well.

GH-RH is a unique hormone because the only area of the body that GH-RH stimulates is the anterior pituitary. In contrast, most hormones have multiple purposes throughout the human body.

The ability of Ghrelin to Stimulate Human Growth Hormone production seems to be correlated with the mutual presence of Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone.

As a result of this, it is hypothesized that the metabolic effects of Ghrelin reduce with age as a result of the age-related decline of GH-RH Secretion. This may also be why older patients respond to lower doses of GH-RH and HGH more potently.

Ghrelin, GH-RH Combination Therapy May Be Most Beneficial

Although research at this point is preliminary, many researchers feel that replacing Ghrelin and GH-RH mutually may be more effective at alleviating symptoms related to aging than replacing either hormone by itself. In addition to Ghrelin and GH-RH Derivatives, there are other hormones that can boost Human Growth Hormone Secretion by reducing the release of Somatostatins, including beta-blockers and arginine.

Three Important Secretagogue Studies

Although there have been a number of studies conducted regarding the effect of Human Growth Hormone Secretagogues upon the secretion of HGH, there are only three studies that have studied the effect of these Secretagogues upon the physiologically normal process of aging.

One study found that injections of a molecule known as Growth Hormone-Releasing Peptide-Two (GHRP-2) have the capacity to increase the body's production of both IGF-1 and Human Growth Hormone by the process of Pituitary Stimulation.

Another study conducted by the University of Virginia, utilizing Growth Hormone Secretagogue MK-677, showed that the hormone could boost lean muscle mass in a way similar to Secretagogues such as Sermorelin Acetate. Although this Secretagogue increased IGF-1 production over the short term, the lean muscle boosting power of GHS MK-677 did not appear to be sustained over a year.

A third study was conducted about a Secretagogue known as Oral Growth Hormone Capromorelin. Participants in this study were older males and females that were relatively healthy. This study had over three hundred participants and was planned to last two years.

Although the study was planned to last two years, it was suspended after a year because patients did not experience an increase in lean muscle percentage due to therapy.

This Secretagogue did lead to an increase in lean muscle mass but also increased hunger in the patients, canceling out the increase in lean muscle by a correlated increase in body fat. This study was conducted before the scientific community was aware of Ghrelin, and further research has displayed that Capromorelin produces a physiologically similar effect upon the body as Ghrelin.

Capromorelin was shown to boost IGF-1 levels, and it also seemed to produce some benefits regarding overall physiological function. Cognitive benefits were not evaluated in this study, but there were reports that sleep quality declined very slightly due to Oral Capromorelin. There were few side effects among patients, and side-effects experienced were mild for the most part.

These three studies all show that Growth Hormone, GH-RH and Ghrelin all can alter the body's physiological production of IGF-1. Ghrelin produces these benefits but it is also correlated with an increase in hunger due to its secondary purpose as an appetite stimulator.

HGH Secretagogue Conclusions

Frailty and muscle atrophy are the two strongest contributors to the age-related decline in physical independence. Today, aging is not considered a disease, but many symptoms of the aging process act upon the body just like a disease.

Hormone Decline associated with the aging process directly leads to an inability to sustain muscle mass, and Human Growth Hormone Secretagogues may be able to slow down or stall this gradual decline.

The more that we research Human Growth Hormone Deficiency, the more obvious it becomes that aging itself begins as a mild form of HGH Deficiency. As the aging process continues, this Deficiency becomes more dramatic.

There is strong evidence that Human Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy improves muscle mass in patients diagnosed with Adult-Onset Human Growth Hormone Deficiency.

There is also growing evidence that HGH Secretagogues, as well as Human Growth Hormone Injections, can decrease the effects of sarcopenia and mental decline in older patients.

Evidence suggests that HGH Secretagogues like Sermorelin Acetate may be effective at improving the life length and quality of older patients. As we grow older and our HGH Levels Decline, we also become more sensitive to Human Growth Hormone at the same time. For this reason, it is vital to titrate HGH Replacement per age.

Recommended HGH Treatment Will Likely Depend upon Age

Sermorelin Acetate and other HGH Secretagogues in older patients may be more effective at treating patients in their seventies and eighties than Human Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy because of this gradual increase in sensitivity to HGH during the aging process occurs.

The use of GH-RH Analogs in the treatment of Age-Related Growth Hormone Decline may be preferred because the treatment allows the body to regulate itself more effectively, limiting the potential for side effects and accidental overdose, which are sometimes associated with Human Growth Hormone Replacement in these individuals.

Word Count: 1714