I am wondering if any KD patient has tried Human Growth Hormone for any reason. HGH/GH causes the liver to produce IGF-1. So, HGH/GH treatment causes the body to generate its own IGF-1. As many on this forum know, IGF-1 has been widely discussed as a possible treatment for KD. Since HGH is sometimes used for anti-aging I am wondering if any KD'er happened to have been prescribed HGH for some other condition. It is pretty a pretty common treatment that is fairly readily available, at least it was until performance enhancing drugs received intense scrutiny in sports. It seems to me this would be a novel thing to try that may have a benefit on disease progression.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...like_growth_factor_1

If you read the section on Synthesis and Circulation in the link above, it explains that production of IGF-1 is stimulated by growth hormone.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tony,

It appears that nobody has coincidentally been prescribed HGH/GH. I really think that people might want to talk to their doctor about it. It is something that is currently readily available that boosts IGF-1 production. I have even discussed it with KD researchers and they agreed that it may have an effect, but felt that targeted IGF-1 therapies would be a better research avenue. While I don't disagree with that, the extremely slow pace of pharmaceutical development and approval means that if something that can currently be prescribed provides benefit, it buys time for people who need something now until a more effective solution is found. There is also a chance that it could have a significant benefit. It is used by athletes for its muscle building effects...it also happens to directly boost one of the more promising therapeutic targets in KD.

So nobody has talked to their doctor about this?

I asked my regular doctor about it and he said I needed to speak with my neurologist. Unfortunately, I only see my neurologist every 3-4 years and my next visit is not for another year. I have an appointment with a pulmonary specialist in a few weeks and I'll ask him.

I believe there are significant risks with most all hormone therapies. With HGH there is fear of increased cancer risk.

Doctors in general are reluctant to prescribe treatments without previous studies indicating the risks and rewards at one or more dosages.

So while it is possible, perhaps even likely that HGH might be of some benefit for us with KD, not knowing how much to take is a big impediment.

However, if one were to be tested and found below normal in this hormone level it might be reasonable to pursue supplementation to at least get back to the normal range.