The growth hormone is one of the important hormones in the body. It stimulates chondrocytes (cartilage cells) to increase, resulting in bone growth. It also increases muscle mass by stimulating the differentiation and proliferation of myoblasts (muscle cells) and is involved in protein build-up in tissues.
However, the secretion of growth hormone and its entire beneficial effects declines with age. Stimulating increased growth hormone production may help prevent several deteriorating structural and functional characteristics associated with old age, ultimately prolonging long qualitative life.
WHAT ARE GHRPs?
GHRP is an acronym for growth hormone-releasing peptides. Though they do not resemble growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) structurally, they perform functions related to GHRH. GHRH is a natural hormone produced in the hypothalamus. It stimulates the anterior pituitary gland to produce growth hormone, which has a lot of benefits in the body, as discussed later. GHRPs are synthetic peptides that act on certain receptors in either the anterior pituitary gland or the hypothalamus to block the effect of hormones that inhibit the production of growth hormones. This activity enhances growth hormone production.
Certain GHRPs have been used in animal studies, especially rats, and have been proved to stimulate growth in rats. They include GHRP-6, GHRP-1, GHRP-3, and hexarelin.
GHRPs are age-dependent, and their effects are known to increase from birth to mid-fifties before finally declining gradually with older age. Though they are synthetic hormones, their effects are stronger than GHRH, and when used synergistically, they produce pleasurable optimal growth hormone production.
MECHANISM OF ACTION
Unlike GHRH, GHRPs release growth hormone via a Ca2+ dependent, cyclic AMP independent mechanism. Certain Animal studies also revealed that they inhibit somatostatin, the growth hormone inhibitory hormone at the pituitary and hypothalamic level, through a GHRH-mediated mechanism.
WHAT IS CJC-1295?
Unlike GHRPs, CJC-1295 (drug affinity complex: growth hormone-releasing factor {DAC: GRF}) is a synthetic analog of growth hormone. It resembles growth hormone structurally and mimics the action of growth hormone. It binds readily to albumin in the blood, increasing its duration of time in the circulation before it finally breaks down. It has an estimated half-life of 7-8 days in humans.
CJC-1295 also has four amino acids different from that of growth hormone-releasing hormone that makes it resistant to proteolytic inactivation by dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV)
All these attributes of CJC-1295 stimulate a sustained, markedly increased production of serum growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I)
CJC-1295 MECHANISM OF ACTION
CJC-1295 is a growth hormone-releasing hormone mimetic. It stimulates growth hormone production in the anterior pituitary gland, which in turn acts on several body tissues via the insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF-I).
However, unlike GHRPs, it does not inhibit the growth hormone inhibitory hormone somatostatin; hence both GHRP and CJC- 1295 are combined to achieve a maximum anabolic effect.
COMBINED EFFECT OF GHRPs AND CJC-1295
Growth hormone secretion declines with age in both sexes, and this is one of the reasons for the structural and functional deterioration in the human body that comes with old age. Growth hormone replacement therapy may help alleviate this deterioration. Theoretically, it can help reverse the deteriorating symptoms that come with aging, and it has also been postulated to be of great importance in improving muscle strength and functional performance. In children with low growth hormone levels or dwarfs, it can be helpful in bone growth.
Excess growth hormone itself is bad, as it can cause diabetes and certain abnormal conditions like acromegaly, a condition in which the hands and feet are abnormally large. This is exactly the reason why GHRPs are the most suitable growth hormone replacement therapy because they cause a pulsatile rather than prolonged elevation in growth hormone levels, and the negative feedback mechanism is still well intact.
If GHRP is combined with CJC 1295, they produce a synergistic effect on growth hormone release that becomes beneficial to the body. Therefore the supplementation of both substances may be more effective than either alone.
BENEFITS OF GROWTH HORMONE
The combined effect of growth hormone replacement substances, GHRPs, and CJC 1295 lead to increased production of growth hormone with its entire beneficial effects as listed below
⮚ It maintains and builds healthy tissues in the brain, lungs, kidneys, and other organs.
⮚ It helps to increase the rate of healing after an injury.
⮚ It increases muscle mass.
⮚ It maintains young, healthy skin.
⮚ It slows down the aging process.
⮚ It improves bone density in children.
⮚ It increases exercise capacity.
⮚ It reduces body fat.
SIDE EFFECTS OF GROWTH HORMONE
When produced in excess, it can lead to some unwanted effects, which are listed below
⮚ Acromegaly (abnormally large size of the face, hands, and feet)
⮚ It can cause joint pain.
⮚ It can result in an increased risk of diabetes.
⮚ It can lead to fatigue.
⮚ Gynecomastia (enlarged breasts) in men.
This is exactly why GHRPs are combined with CJC-1295 for optimal effects. They mimic GHRH by producing growth hormone in a pulsatile manner, thus regulating the amount of growth hormone in the circulation.
GHRPs and CJC-1295 act physiologically to increase hormone production with minimal side effects. They can be a scientific breakthrough in ameliorating aging-related problems, as explained above.
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Dr. Marinov (MD, Ph.D.) is a researcher and chief assistant professor in Preventative Medicine & Public Health. Prior to his professorship, Dr. Marinov practiced preventative, evidence-based medicine with an emphasis on Nutrition and Dietetics. He is widely published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and specializes in peptide therapy research.