Suppressing growth hormone in early adulthood may prevent cancer
A modest suppression of growth hormone and related compounds beginning in early adulthood may delay the onset or progression of several types of cancer, researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and other centers reported today at ENDO 2005, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, in San Diego.
(I-Newswire) - Suppression of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor ( IGF-1 ) also may decrease cancer risk in those individuals at high risk for disease, and perhaps could be a preventive measure, said William E. Sonntag. Ph.D., the lead investigator, who based his findings on research in rats.
He said IGF-1 is an important blood-borne factor that increases cell growth and prevents cell death and has been proposed to be a factor in the initiation of cancer.
"Elevated IGF-1 levels in pre-menopausal women have been demonstrated to be a risk factor for breast cancer as well as numerous other cancers," said Sonntag, professor of physiology and pharmacology at the School of Medicine, a part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
IGF-1 in the blood also may act as a tumor promoter during the early development of cancer, he said.
Although additional research is needed, he said, drugs in the somatostatin class are currently available to suppress growth hormone and IGF-1 in people, so somatostatin analogs could be given as preventative measures to lower plasma IGF-1 before the onset of disease, especially in high-risk people.
In a previous study, rats with high levels of growth hormone ( a circulating factor that increases IGF-1 levels ) exhibit an increase in spontaneous mammary tumors. Dwarf animals with 50 percent lower IGF-1 levels do not develop tumors in response to a chemical carcinogen. But Sonntag said that if these dwarf rats are given growth hormone to increase IGF-1 in the blood, tumors develop at the same rate as in the normal animals.
Suppression of IGF-1 activity inhibits the proliferation of numerous cell types and cancers. "IGF-1 levels in the blood can be reduced by low-calorie diets, which could be a mechanism for the diet-cancer relationship," said Sonntag, whose work explores the neurobiology of aging.
Previous studies in some animals indicate that a reduction in IGF-1 activity increases lifespan. To date, there are no studies of a specific suppression of IGF-1 on aging or age-related diseases.
In the current study, Sonntag found that a life-long deficiency of IGF-1 decreased cancer risk by approximately 45 percent and decreased cancer deaths by 12-15 percent.
"Besides reducing the incidence of cancer in these rats, we found that a modest suppression of plasma IGF-1 beginning shortly after puberty and continued throughout life reduces the incidence of kidney disease and increases lifespan," Sonntag said.
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, an American Federation of Aging/Pfizer grant, and the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at Wake Forest Baptist.
Media Contacts: Robert Conn, rconn@wfubmc.edu, Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, or Karen Richardson, krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu, at 336-716-4587.
About Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center: Wake Forest Baptist is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university's School of Medicine. The system comprises 1,298 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of "America's Best Hospitals" by U.S. News & World Report.
Contact: Robert Conn rconn@wfubmc.edu 336-716-4587 Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center http://www.wfubmc.edu
If you have questions regarding information in this press release contact the company listed below. I-Newswire.com is a press release service and not the author of this press release. The information that is on or available through this site is for informational purposes only and speaks only as of the particular date or dates of that information. As some companies / PR Agencies submit their press releases once per week/month or quarter, make sure check the official company website for accurate release dates as our site displays the I-Newswire.com distribution date only. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of information on or available through this site, and we are not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in that information or for actions taken in reliance on that information.
Immerse yourself in mystery and magic with two exciting new casual games from Focus Multimedia and Big Fish Games Studios, one of the world’s leading casual game developers. Hidden Expedition Titanic and Azada join Focus’ popular Revival range of super-budget price games and are available in a store near you.
Edraw Max enables students, teachers and business professionals to reliably create and publish kinds of diagrams to represent any ideas. With large pre-drawn libraries and more than 4600 vector symbols, drawing couldn't be easier!
New range of cards launched to make you the cover star.Hallmark Cards in partnership with OK Magazine has launched an exclusive and exciting new range of greeting cards that gives people the chance to give family and friends the A-List treatment.
Many people choose not to pursue an accident claim. The reasons range from knowing the insurance company will settle; to they don't want the legal hassles and expense.
Many individuals and businesses have always purchased their personal computers from a well-known provider to pre-conceived specifications. Increasingly...
The effectiveness of SEO and PPC Services are directly related to the quality and quantity of the performance data that they have to work with. If you are seeking assistance in achieving a higher ranking on search engine results, then we suggest you visit RankYourWebsites.com, specialist in this area. If you have found your attempts at optimization to prove fruitless, the representatives at RankYourWebsites.com will have a solution to increase your traffic.
http://www.vineyardsforsalein.com/ - online island vineyard for sale, vineyard for sale paso, texas vineyard for sale, washington vineyard for sale, tuscany vineyard for sale, vineyard for sale santa, vineyard for sale California
Mark Flanagan, Managing Director of Manchester health and safety, food safety and fire safety consultancy, Shieldyourself, discussed the Scores on the Doors scheme when he made a guest appearance on the BBC’s 5 Live Radio Show recently.
