Treatment with Growth Hormone (GH) Increased the Metabolic Activity of the Brain in an Elder Patient, Not GH-Deficient, Who Suffered Mild Cognitive Alterations and Had an ApoE 4/3 Genotype

Abstract

(1) Background: We analyzed, using PET-SCAN and cognitive tests, how growth hormone (GH) could act in the brain of an older woman, not deficient in GH, who showed mild cognitive alterations (MCI) and had a genotype of ApoE 4/3 and familial dyslipidemia. (2) Methods: After performing a first psychometric study (TAVEC verbal learning test), the metabolic activity of brain structures related to knowledge, memory, and behavior was analyzed using 18-F fluorodeoxyglucose PET-SCAN. The patient was then treated with GH (0.4 mg/day, subcutaneous) for three weeks and on the last day under this treatment, a new PET-SCAN was performed. One month after beginning treatment with GH, a new TAVEC test was performed. (3) Results: GH administration normalized the cognitive deficits observed in the first psychometric test and significantly (p < 0.025) increased the metabolic activity in practically all brain cortical areas, specifically in the left hippocampus and left amygdala, although not in the left parahippocampus. (4) Conclusions: This study demonstrates for the first time the positive effects of GH on cerebral metabolism in a patient without GH deficiency, recovering the function of affected areas related to knowledge, memory, and behavior in an elderly patient with MCI.

Towards an Integral Therapeutic Protocol for Breast Cancer Based upon the New H+-Centered Anticancer Paradigm of the Late Post-Warburg Era

“…In animals, a lethal dose for 50% of the animals (LD50) could not be found, and very high doses, such as 800 mg/kg body weight did not produce any adverse effects [ 348 ]. Similarly, no side effects were observed in a phase II clinical trial in which 1400 women were treated with 75 mg of MT daily, at night, for four years [ 349 ], nor were any adverse effects seen in a woman who took 50 mg of MT/daily for 9 years [ 350 ]. Moreover, 31 patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) were treated with rectal MT (300 mg/day) for 2 years without experiencing adverse effects from these high dosages [ 351 ].…”

Hydrogen Ion Dynamics of Cancer and a New Molecular, Biochemical and Metabolic Approach to the Etiopathogenesis and Treatment of Brain Malignancies

“…Although in Figure 1 the human growth hormone (GH) appears as a pro-oncogenic factor, it has also been shown than this hormone can be a useful and safe treatment for many different pathologies, even in some neurodegenerative processes [13,21,59,60]. However, even in patients with a past history of neoplasia, GH replacement therapy does not appear to increase the chances of inducing a tumoral process [61,62].…”

Growth Hormone Deficiency: Is It Just a Problem of Growth Impairment? Part I

“…GH seems to be a very important regulator of hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and memory, therefore being able to revert memory deficiencies produced by alterations in cholinergic neurons and an imbalance in hippocampal glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses [72]; in addition, GH increases the blood flow to the brain and induces, via activation of PI3K/ Akt pathways, the translocation of Glut4 vesicles to the plasma membrane for allowing the entry of glucose in neurons [73], and enhancement of excitatory synaptic transmission through NMDA receptors [74][75][76][77]. Although these studies have been carried out in rats, our recent data in an older woman support these effects of GH, not only in the hippocampus but also in practically all cortical areas, as measured by PET scans performed before GH administration and 1 month later [49]. It is likely that these effects of GH on cognition and the metabolic activity of the brain are also due to the effects of the hormone on the adult neurogenesis, both in physiological conditions and after a brain injury.…”

“…IGF-I is also synthesized in the CNS [29], and its expression, induced by GH, has been detected in neural stem cells from fetal human forebrains [30]. Both GH and IGF-I play a very important reparative role after a brain injury, a hypothesis postulated a long time ago [31] and later proved by many preclinical and clinical studies, regardless of whether the experimental animals or human patients were GHD or not [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49].…”