Oral estradiol administration modulates continuous intravenous growth hormone (GH)-releasing peptide-2-driven GH secretion in postmenopausal women

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) and GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone).

Exactly how estradiol (E2) regulates the human GH-insulin-like growth factor I axis is not known.

Here, the researchers explore the impact of oral E2 supplementation on the stimulatory actions of a potent and specific synthetic GH-releasing peptide (GHRP), GHRP-2.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 10 women taking part.

The age groups tagged for this paper are middle-aged adults and older adults, women only.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

Because people in this Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

Neither the women nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over), so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) group a baseline to be compared against.

Each person switched between Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

What Was Measured

As complementary (nonpulsatile) measures, the researchers used the approximate entropy (ApEn) statistic and cosine regression to define feedback-dependent and circadian-related changes, respectively.

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Estradiol, Estrogen Replacement Therapy, Follicle Stimulating Hormone, Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone, Hormones, Human Growth Hormone and Hydrocortisone.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) and GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone) in 10 women.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2000 (The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) compound page and the GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone) compound page, all human trials.