IGF-1 Testing          

	IGF-1 Testing Available
	Frequently Asked Questions on IGH-1 Testing
	hGH and Cancer Patients

What is IGF-1?
IGF-1 is Insulin-Like Growth Factor. It is formed by liver cells when they are stimulated by Human Growth Hormone (HGH). It is the compound that is responsible for the effects we see from HGH supplementation. It is also known as Somatomedin-C.

Why don’t we just measure the HGH level?
HGH is released by the Pituitary gland in series of pulses. One series just after falling asleep, and the other about 2 hours after getting up in the morning. The amount of HGH in the blood is very small, and varies rapidly over time. This renders it unsuitable as a monitor of HGH activity. IGF-1 is much more abundant, is produced in direct response to HGH, and has a consistent diurnal pattern.

What should the IGF-1 be?
The ideal target for IGF-1 should be 280-350 mcg/ml. Normally this is the value for 20-25 year olds. We find there is a wide variety of levels based on life-style and diet. Generally the normal values drop about 10% per decade.

How often should I check my IGF-1?
Every 3 months while therapy is being adjusted then every 6 months.

Do I need to fast for the test?
No, and the best time to have it drawn is in the morning. You should always have it checked the same time of day and use the same lab for the most consistent results.

How high is too high?
The negative side-effects we see in HGH therapy only when the IGF-1 remains over 500 for a period of months.

Why should I get my level checked?
There are no easy indicators that let us know where your IGF-1 level is. To get the most out of treatment with any of the HGH products it is important to know how each impacts our bodies. We also have no way to know in advance if the pituitary is responding to treatment, or on rare occasion, being overactive. To get your IGF-1 in the ideal range insures that the treatment will produce the results you desire. Use of a combination releasers, homeopathic tablets that enhance receptor activity, and exercise can significantly boost IGF-1 levels. HGH is a hormone. It has widespread effects on the body, and there are negative side-effects from having too high a level.

hGH and Cancer Patients: 
A Position Paper from Hilton Head Longevity Center
As the use of hGH increases and the use of hGH "boosters" also increases, there will be more and more interaction with cancer patients. The use of secretagogues has grown exponentially in the past few years and will continue to do so over the next decade. The efficacy of these products increases on almost a daily basis. Many of the people taking these products will have undiagnosed cancers. There will also be many people that want to maintain the anabolic activity of hGH replacement despite their cancers. The concern has always been that hGH has the potential to stimulate cancer cell growth. HGH is a powerful stimulant of cell growth, and its primary use is for this activity.

Every day of our lives we produce over 2000 cancer cells. Fortunately a vast majority of these undergo apostosis before being induced into active cancers. We know cancer to be basically a two-step process. First a cell is produced that has a cancerous genome. Then something will trigger this cell into uncontrolled division, thereby becoming a cancer. Viruses, toxins, radiation, and spontaneous mutations are responsible for producing the thousands of potentially dangerous cells. A second stimulus is then necessary for the cancerous transformation. The underlying genetic deformity lends the cell to self-destruct if the transformation fails to occur within a fairly short time frame. The abnormal cells surviving the first few hours are actively hunted down by our immune system and destroyed. The T-Cells are our principal weapon in this respect. The reason we don’t all walk around with cancer is that the cancer cells seldom every get transformed. Even when a cancer cell is transformed, the immune system’s T-Cells destroy the young cancer before it gains significant momentum. Even if the cancer can evade this active hunter, as it grows it becomes ever more conspicuous to the immune system.

Nutritional deficiencies, toxins, physical or emotional stress, and radiation all take their toll on our immune system. This weakens our ability to fight off developing cancers. This explains the link between depression and cancer. Depression can "turn off" the immune system. You may notice how easy it is to get a cold after a stressor. Zinc and selenium deficiencies both impair immunity. There is a significant correlation between selenium deficiency and gastrointestinal cancers. We know all too well the relation between radiation and leukemia, and between radioactive iodine and thyroid cancer. The radiation not only induces the cancer; it damages the immune system’s ability to fight it.

In our effort to control cancer, we have used chemotherapy and radiation therapy to kill the cancer cells. This treatment isn’t specific and can damage normal cells as well as the cancer cells. Many of the agents damage actively dividing cells more than non-dividing cells. Our immune system contains some of the most actively dividing cells in our body. These cells are quite often damaged as much as the cancer cells. We are actively developing treatments the are far more accurate in their attack.

Cancer cells fail to respond to stimuli from surrounding cells. It can be a problem with cell membranes, or an altered series of regulatory mechanisms. We do know that most cancer cells carry the enzyme telemerase that maintains the telemere. It is even possible that the telemere length may cause it to cover up some of the regulatory genes.

When we replace or augment hGH activity, we make sure we don’t exceed the physiologic norms. In this range, on of the greatest benefits of hGH therapy is that the immune system in markedly improved. HGH injections can even regrow thymic tissue. Since the cancer cells have a reduced ability to respond to external stimuli, it is unlikely they will be stimulated more than the immune system. If a person has had a cancer and is "cured", this therapy should markedly decrease the possibility of a new cancer developing. In a person with an active cancer, there is no doubt that we are stimulating growth of both cancer cells and immune cells. We are arming both sides of the conflict. We are giving better arms to the friendly forces. The immune enhancement from hGH therapy outweighs the burden of increased tumor cell growth. When the cancer is of the immune system, this picture becomes cloudier. In this isolated group of patients there is still probably some benefit to hGH augmentation, as the normal cells would probably respond better to hGH stimulation than the cancer cells would, but the recommendation is to avoid hGH augmentation. In the future as we gain information, we may need to change this opinion.

We recommend the widespread use of secretagogues, sublingual rHGH tablets and hGH enhancers to boost IGF-1 levels. This use should be monitored and started in the 30+ age group. This should be done to enhance the immune system, strengthen the heart and lungs, promote muscle tissue, thicken skin, and improve overall health. The products may be used in cancer patients that don’t have a primary site in the immune system. At this time we don’t recommend that leukemia or lymphoma patients use these products. For injectable hGH, we recommend close communication with the patient’s oncologist. Therapy can proceed if it is okayed by them.