Growth hormone implicated in cancer and diabetes

[haidut]

The article is very confusing, so I am not sure if they advocate using HGH for treating cancer/diabetes or are they saying they discovered how HGH may be causing cancer/diabetes. There is one line though that sums up the message likely to be of interest to us.

http://uqnews.drupal.uq.edu.au/article/ ... ent-target

"...People without growth hormone receptor don’t die from cancer or diabetes, making it an ideal drug target,” Professor Waters said."

In other words, assuming the "whole cell is the receptor" as Peat said, I think the above line can be interpreted to mean that cells resistant to growth hormone do not become cancerous or unable to use glucose efficiently (diabetes).

Here is the full study, behind a paywall:
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/344/6185/1249783.full

 

[Suikerbuik]

Thank you as always Haidut. They article is about that they find the mechanism of how the growth hormone receptor signals. They don't direct advocate agianst the use in diabetes and cancer, but you could interpret that would be wise. Nor they saying that they find how HGH does cause cancer or diabetes, the molecular pathways still remain unclear mostly. It's just about they now seem to know for what particular spot they must try to find a drug..

“Growth hormone receptor is one of a group of proteins known as cytokine receptors, which are important targets for therapeutics for a range of disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease, blood disorders, osteoporosis and obesity,” Dr Brooks said.

I just see this as stupidity, treating the symptoms and results without knowing what is below. This will in short term reduce symptoms or functional decline in this particular area but long-term or efficient use of glucose or cancer probability?

People without growth hormone receptor don’t die from cancer or diabetes

Maybe these people don't develop cancer or maybe these people do develop cancer but it's much much less aggresive (these cancers don't recieve the message to keep proliferating at enormous high speed). If people can live with cancer for 50 years without issues they most likely will die of heart disease of whatever.

The diabetes is an interesting thing either. Wonder how growth hormone reduces insulin sensitivity and what else it may do. Anyway this indicates that Ray's view on growth hormone is certainly right.