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Xenobiotic Growth Hormone Secretagogues: Growth Hormone Releasing Peptides

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Growth Hormone Secretagogues

Part of the book series: Serono Symposia USA Norwell, Massachusetts ((SERONOSYMP))

Abstract

A number of different and still evolving concepts, strategies, approaches, and techniques underlie the story of the growth hormone releasing peptides (GHRPs). Even though the origin of the GHRPs was artificial, many investigators have validated these peptides as distinct chemical entities with novel actions on growth hormone (GH) release in animals and in humans. They appear to be valuable both diagnostically and therapeutically as well as basically because they may reflect the physiologic actions of a putative endogenous GHRP system as well as a natural GHRP-like ligand. A major challenge is to better understand the relationship between the actions of the GHRPs, growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH), and somatotropin release inhibiting factor (SRIF) on GH release. Evidence strongly supports that GHRPs act on both the hypothalamus and pituitary to release GH. It is the hypothalamic component of the GHRP action that is still most incompletely understood as well as the relative importance of the hypothalamic and pituitary action in the in vivo release of GH. Most evidence indicates that the direct pituitary in vitro action of GHRP+GHRH on GH release is essentially additive and, thus, a direct pituitary action of these two combined peptides seemingly does not explain the not infrequent dramatic synergistic and marked effect on GH release in vivo in both animals and humans.

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  1. Cyril Y. Bowers
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  1. Pediatric Endocrinology, All Children’s Hospital, 33701, St. PetersBurg, FL, USA

    Barry B. Bercu M.D.  & Richard F. Walker Ph.D.  & 

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Bowers, C.Y. (1996). Xenobiotic Growth Hormone Secretagogues: Growth Hormone Releasing Peptides. In: Bercu, B.B., Walker, R.F. (eds) Growth Hormone Secretagogues. Serono Symposia USA Norwell, Massachusetts. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2396-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2396-2_2

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