hGH’s Effects on AIDS Wasting Syndrome :: Biology Biological Research Papers

hGH’s Effects on AIDS Wasting Syndrome "As for the fact that the disease tends to produce death, this is a matter of small significance. Life itself tends to produce death; living is a sort of gradual dying. All that distinguishes what is known is known as a healthy man from what is known as a diseased man is that the latter promises to die sooner – and even this probability is not always borne out by the event." H.L. Mencken What is Human Growth Hormone?. When asked to think about the human growth hormone (hGH) and its uses, many would envision an abnormally short man or woman who needs the hormone in order to grow to an average height. And in fact, this is one of the hGH’s most vital functions, yet there are many more uses for the hormone, unknown to much of the general public. Human growth hormone is a protein consisting of one hundred and ninety one amino acids and possessing a molecular weight of 21,700 (http://www.eng.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/FUNDAMNT/human.htm). It is produced in the pituitary gland of humans, where if functioning normally, it is secreted continuously throughout a person’s lifetime. The hormone promotes growth throughout adolescence and has a major role in the metabolism of adults (http://www.novo.dk/backgrou/backgrou/bahghuk.htm). hGH has many uses including the treatment of hypopituitary dwarfism, bone fractures, burns, and bleeding ulcers. In fact, until 1988 hGH was only used to tr eat those with growth hormone insufficiency, caused by a limited supply of the hormone (http://www.novo.dk/backgrou/backgrou/bahghuk.htm). However, with the widespread infection of the HIV virus, hGH has experimentally and effectively been found to benefit those suffering from AIDS wasting syndrome. What is AIDS Wasting Syndrome?. Often nicknamed "slim disease" in parts of Africa, wasting syndrome, in which there is intense loss of lean body mass, is killing people with AIDS. It is now the "second most frequently reported AIDS-related clinical condition in the United States, second only to Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (Weinroth, 1995). In wasting syndrome, the body begins to burn lean body mass and fat instead of the normal energy, making the body more susceptible to deadly infections. (http://www.critpath.org/newsletter/wtp/0496/growth.htm). The weight loss is very often associated with chronic weakness, constant diarrhea, and/or prolonged, unexplained fever (Weinroth, 1995).AIDS wasting arises in about 15-40% of late-stage AIDS cases (http://www.critpath.org/newsletter/wtp/0496/growth.htm). There is, however, a higher occurrence among women, Hispanics, and intravenous drug users. hGH’s Effects on AIDS Wasting Syndrome :: Biology Biological Research Papers hGH’s Effects on AIDS Wasting Syndrome "As for the fact that the disease tends to produce death, this is a matter of small significance. Life itself tends to produce death; living is a sort of gradual dying. All that distinguishes what is known is known as a healthy man from what is known as a diseased man is that the latter promises to die sooner – and even this probability is not always borne out by the event." H.L. Mencken What is Human Growth Hormone?. When asked to think about the human growth hormone (hGH) and its uses, many would envision an abnormally short man or woman who needs the hormone in order to grow to an average height. And in fact, this is one of the hGH’s most vital functions, yet there are many more uses for the hormone, unknown to much of the general public. Human growth hormone is a protein consisting of one hundred and ninety one amino acids and possessing a molecular weight of 21,700 (http://www.eng.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/FUNDAMNT/human.htm). It is produced in the pituitary gland of humans, where if functioning normally, it is secreted continuously throughout a person’s lifetime. The hormone promotes growth throughout adolescence and has a major role in the metabolism of adults (http://www.novo.dk/backgrou/backgrou/bahghuk.htm). hGH has many uses including the treatment of hypopituitary dwarfism, bone fractures, burns, and bleeding ulcers. In fact, until 1988 hGH was only used to tr eat those with growth hormone insufficiency, caused by a limited supply of the hormone (http://www.novo.dk/backgrou/backgrou/bahghuk.htm). However, with the widespread infection of the HIV virus, hGH has experimentally and effectively been found to benefit those suffering from AIDS wasting syndrome. What is AIDS Wasting Syndrome?. Often nicknamed "slim disease" in parts of Africa, wasting syndrome, in which there is intense loss of lean body mass, is killing people with AIDS. It is now the "second most frequently reported AIDS-related clinical condition in the United States, second only to Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (Weinroth, 1995). In wasting syndrome, the body begins to burn lean body mass and fat instead of the normal energy, making the body more susceptible to deadly infections. (http://www.critpath.org/newsletter/wtp/0496/growth.htm). The weight loss is very often associated with chronic weakness, constant diarrhea, and/or prolonged, unexplained fever (Weinroth, 1995).AIDS wasting arises in about 15-40% of late-stage AIDS cases (http://www.critpath.org/newsletter/wtp/0496/growth.htm). There is, however, a higher occurrence among women, Hispanics, and intravenous drug users.