When was HGH discovered?

The human growth hormone, commonly referred to as the HGH, was discovered roughly half a century ago, but it wasn’t till 1970’s that the scientists and researchers actually zero in on what the HGH was and singled out its functions in the human body. Till 1970, HGH, even though discovered well before, was just among one among the millions of divergent forms of bio-molecules discovered in the human body.  Since then it has been a very wide area to research on.

What is the HGH anyway?

Well the HGH is basically a derivative of a protein compound produced in the anterior part of the pituitary gland situated in the basal region of the human brain. The small oval shaped pituitary gland in the basal part of the brain functions for the body growth and metabolism and hence the HGH hormone released from the latter enhances growth and metabolism. In the brain there are a few cells known as the somatotroph cells which are responsible for the secretion of somatotropin, otherwise known as the HGH. Not only do these cells secrete the hormone but they also help to store it.

What are the types of HGH?

-- Somatotropin/ Cadaver-GH- This type of GH was first synthesized from cadavers roughly in the 60’s to 80’s.Cadaver GH is formed by purifying GH from cadavers. But in the 1980’s researchers found that, since the cadaver-GH is synthesized from the pituitary of the cadavers, there were high possibilities of the CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) and so its use has been discontinued

-- Somaterm/Met-GH- Met-GH- This was the first bio-synthetic form of HGH developed. When researchers first developed this GH using inclusion body technology, they compared it with the cadaver-GH but to find out that met-GH was not pure GH, but had an additional methionyl amino acid, but this amino group caused many side effects. This methionyl amino acid group inside a person’s body caused the body to build up antibodies against it. It also caused a lot of allergic reactions. In some people, their body provided so much resistance to it, that it neutralized the effect and so even this was stopped from production

-- Somatropin/rhGH- This was synthesized from 2 modern methods- protein secretion technology or mouse cell manufacturing. These methods helped researchers produce GH similar to that produced in the human body and also it did not produce any sorts of side effects. It was ideal as that present and produced by the pituitary of the body and so even in the present days this method is used.

Why is the HGH important and what is its main function?

The HGH is commonly referred to as “naturally occurring”, but it can be forced into the body by means of injections or pills. The function of HGH in the body is very vital throughout the life span of any human being and so proper maintenance and proper amounts of HGH needs to be given to the body for proper functioning of the body

And so maintaining adequate levels of HGH in our body is essential for the proper growth and metabolism, maintaining good health and for the well being of the human body in general.