How Human Growth Hormone work in children?The human growth hormone has two cycles which are direct cycle and indirect cycle.Before we go any detail to explain how and what hgh effect on children ,you should know What is Human Growth Hormone(hGH). The direct cycle are the result of human growth hormones binding its receptors on target cells (. During the indirect cycle, human growth hormone is primarily released in pulses that take place during the beginning phases of sleep.
Growth hormone is rapidly converted in the liver to its powerful growth promoting metabolite, Insulin like Growth Factor - Type 1 (IGF-1), also referred to as Somatomedin C . IGF-1 causes most of the effects associated with growth hormone . It is measured in the blood to determine the level of growth hormone secretion . Most of the beneficial effects of human growth hormone are directly attributable to IGF-1 .
Although the majority of children born SGA are not growth hormone (GH) deficient, GH treatment is known to improve average growth in these children. Early studies using HGH in children born SGA demonstrated increased height velocity, but these effects tended to be short-term with effects decreasing when Human growth hormone HGH treatment stopped.
With refined GH regimens, significant effects on height have been shown, with gains of approximately 1 standard deviation score after 2 years. Studies have also shown that long-term continuous GH therapy can significantly increase final height to within the normal range.
GH treatment of children born SGA does not appear to unduly affect bone age or pubertal development. Growth prediction models have been used to identify various factors involved in the response to GH therapy with ageat start, treatment duration, and GH dose showing strong effects.
Genetic factors such as the exon 3 deletion of the GH receptor may contribute to short stature of children born SGA and may also be involved in the responsiveness to GH treatment, but there remain other unknown genetic and/or environmental factors.
No unexpected safety concerns have arisen in GH therapy trials. In particular, no long-term adverse effects have been seen for glucose metabolism, and positive effects have been shown for lipid profiles and blood pressure. GH treatment in short children born SGA has shown a beneficial, growthpromoting effect in both the short-and long-term, and has become a recognized indication in both the US and Europe.
Indirect Effects are mediated primarily by Insulin like Growth Factor, a hormone that is secreted from the liver and other tissues in response to human growth hormones .A majority of the effects of human growth hormones is actually due to IGF-1 acting on target cells . The two feedback circuits, negative feedback circuit and positive feedback circuit, are the heart of the endocrine system. The negative feedback circuit uses two hypothalamic hormones, GHRH and SS, to control the secretion of growth hormone; meanwhile, positive feedback is seen when the output of a pathway stimulates inputs to the pathway.
According to the test, the only effective way to increase the secretion of growth hormone is to minimize the effect of the negative feedback circuit by creating a natural positive feedback circuit .
The side effects of HGH injections
HGH injections are good for helping children to grow. However, the side effects of HGH may include: ear infection, abdominal pain or bloating, changes in vision, headache, nausea and vomiting, skin rash or itching, carpal tunnel syndrome, enlargement of breasts, joint pain, muscle pain, fatigue and swelling of hands, feet or lower legs . If HGH is given to children with normal growth, serious side effects may occur because levels in the body become too high. They include development of diabetes; abnormal growth of bones and internal organs such as the heart, kidneys and liver; hardening of the arteries, and high blood pressure . New research also suggests a link to colorectal cancer later in life . Long-term over-dosage could result in symptoms of acromegaly, or excessive bone growth . HGH injections should not be given to children with normal growth because they could get diabetes and develop malformed growth of bones and internal organs, hardening of the arteries, and high blood pressure.
Further studies on individualized treatment regimens and long-term safety are ongoing.
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