Human growth hormone invented
Human growth hormone (HGH) is a peptide hormone crucial for growth and metabolism in humans. Its discovery traces back to the 1920s, with significant advancements made in the mid-20th century when researchers like Choh Hao Li isolated growth hormones from various species, including humans. By the 1960s, the unique response of humans to their own growth hormone was established, leading to the potential for therapeutic use. The first notable human administration occurred in 1958 when Maurice Raben treated a young dwarf with cadaver-derived HGH, resulting in measurable growth. This success sparked hope among families of children with growth deficiencies. However, concerns arose in the 1980s when cadaver-derived HGH was linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, prompting the shift to recombinant HGH, which became available later that year. As a result, HGH therapy expanded, offering treatment to thousands of patients with growth-related conditions.
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Human growth hormone invented
The Event Isolation of the human growth hormone from the anterior pituitary gland by Choh Hao Li and Harold Papkoff
Date Isolated in 1956
During the 1950’s, the isolation of the human growth hormone and the elucidation of its chemical structure held promise for the treatment of pituitary dwarfism.
As early as the 1920’s, scientists knew about the existence of growth hormones. Choh Hao Li and other researchers had isolated the bovine growth hormone during the mid-1940’s using a method that produced pure and potent samples. By 1960, growth hormones from six species—beef, sheep, whale, pig, monkey, and human—had been isolated, and their roles in metabolism and growth were elucidated. Li and Harold Papkoff tested the efficacy of human growth hormones in rats and mice in which the pituitary had been excised. By measuring the increase in the width of the tibia, they determined the relative effect of varying doses.
Impact
As research had revealed that human beings did not respond to the growth hormone of any other species, the isolation of the human growth hormone raised the possibility of human therapy. In 1958, Maurice Raben of Tufts Medical School administered human growth hormone extracted from cadavers to a young male dwarf, who subsequently grew two inches in ten months. News of this success gave hope to the parents of children of abnormally short stature. In 1963, the National Hormone and Pituitary Program was established, ultimately treating some eight thousand patients, until it became apparent in 1985 that the hormone, when derived from a cadaver, could transmit Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. In late 1985, recombinant human growth hormone became available.
Bibliography
Frasier, S. D. “The Not-So-Good Old Days: Working with Pituitary Growth Hormone in North America, 1956 to 1985.” The Journal of Pediatrics 131, no. 1, part II (1997): S1-S4. Account of cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in patients treated with human growth hormone obtained from cadavers.
Henry, Stephen, Colin G. Scanes, and William H. Daughaday. Growth Hormone. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 1995. Fairly technical account of growth hormone.