Human dwarfism

Finally, the most convincing evidence in support of the absolute safety of BST relates to attempts to develop natural bovine growth hormone as a human drug. Natural BST, extracted from cows, was investigated in the 1950s as a possible injectable treatment for human dwarfism. Bovine insulin used to be the source of human insulin until biotechnology provided a better alternative. Both bovine and human growth hormone have 191 amino acids however, 35% of the amino acids are different between the two species. After inject-... 

Human growth hormone, used as a human pharmaceutical, is approved for only one indication in the United States, treatment of growth failure owing to hGH deficiency, a condition known as pituitary dwarfism. However, clinical trials are under way to test its efficacy in Turner s syndrome, bums, wound healing, cachexia, osteoporosis, constitutional growth delay, aging, malnutrition, and obesity. 

Human somatotropin 191 amino acids E. coll Pituitary dwarfism Approved for sale If useful in treatment of osteoporosis then market size will be much larger Has additional methionine residue at N-terminus, but technology for removing this now available... 

Such effects render IGFs likely therapeutic candidates in treating the various forms of dwarfism caused by a dysfunction in some element of the GH-IGF growth axis. Initial trials show that s.c. administration of recombinant human IGF-I over a 12-month period significantly increases the growth rate of Laron-type dwarfs. 

GH has a potentially wide range of therapeutic uses (Table 11.6). To date, however, its major application has been for the treatment of short stature. hGH extracted from human pituitary glands was first used to treat pituitary dwarfism (i.e. caused by suboptimal pituitary GH secretion) in 1958. It has subsequently proven effective in the treatment of short stature caused by a variety of other conditions, including ... 

Dwarfism -roleofhGH [HORMONES - HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE] (Vol 13) -torn zinc deficiency [MINERAL NUTRIENTS] (Vol 16)... 

Zinc was confirmed as essential for humans in 1936 and deficiency symptoms were reported in l%l. The size of ihe human fetus is correlated with zinc concentration in the amnintic fluid and habitual low zinc intake in the pregnant female is thought to he related (o several congenital anomalies in humans. Low zinc intakes result in hypogonadism, dwarfism. mental retardation, low serum and red blood cell zinc in humans and animals, and retarded growth and teratogenic effects on the nervous system in rats. 

The mammalian cell culture technique can be employed to produce clinically important biochemicals such as human growth hormones, interferon, plasminogen activator, viral vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies. Traditionally, these biochemicals had been produced using living animals or extracted from human cadavers. As examples, monoclonal antibodies can be produced by cultivating hybridoma cells in the peritoneal cavity of mice, and the human growth hormone to cure dwarfism can be extracted from human cadavers. However, the quantity obtained from these methods is quite limited for the wide clinical usages of the products. 

Human growth hormone Dwarfism, AIDS wasting... 

A substance isolated from human pituitary (e.g. Asellacrin ) is available for the treatment of pituitary dwarfism in which there is a confirmed STH deficiency. 

Biotechnology-derived pharmaceuticals (biopharmaceuticals) appeared for the first time in the 1980s for medical treatment of diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and hypophysical dwarfism. Since then the number and types of biopharmaceuticals have climbed and continue to dramatically increase. One reason for the increase is the evolution of recombinant manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. This has provided sufficient amounts of proteins for development and clinical use, whereas, for example, the amount of insulin or growth hormones extracted from animal or human tissues had been limited. Another... 

The techniques used to obtain these data and to define the extended model of zinc metabolism are Important to define changes In zinc metabolism In both normal and pathological states and are particularly useful as an aid In definition of zinc deficiency. Human zinc deficiency has been difficult to Identify because Its symptoms are complex and variable (, 8-11) ranging from Impairments of taste and smell to skin rash and dwarfism. There Is presently no adequate clinical test for the diagnosis of zinc deficiency In humans, which further complicates Its Identification. Zinc content In serum, plasma, red blood cells,urine, saliva or hair have proven Inadequate for specific diagnosis of Individual cases of zinc deflclency(6,8-12). 

Genotropin/ Somatropine Human growth hormone 22 Pfizer Dwarfism 551... 

Biological Roles of Zinc and Copper. Zinc and copper are essential cofactors at the active site of a number of enzymes. Zinc is a component of more than 200 proteins and enzymes (Table II). Copper, sim-lleT to iron, participates both in redox reactions and as a proton doner (Table III). The normal human adult body contains approximately 50-100 mg of copper and 2.0 g of zinc. The vast majority of tissue copper is found in the liver, kidney, heart and brain. In the blood, copper exists within the red blood cell as superoxide dlsmutase and in the serum as ceruloplasmin. Copper is a component of aerobic metabolism, bone synthesis, and erythrocyte development. Zinc is found primarily in the liver, kidney, bone and prostate. Zinc is essential for normal growth of tissues, wound repair, skin structure, reproduction, taste perception, and the prevention of dwarfism. 

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