HGH - Any endocrinologists out there?

[nacra99]

The funding just got pulled from my lab (where i work part time). And we have lots of chemicals to send away or dispose. One particular compound is what is known as human Growth Hormone (GH or HGH). You know .. the one produced by the Pituitary. So it got me thinking... what if we put GH into the fish tank... would it encourage growth of even stunted discus?

Before people go screaming... yes.. i know you're not supposed to bring chemicals home from the lab... and yes... it raises ethical questions about playing with another organisms bodily functions... and no... i probably won't be able to bring anything out of the lab without raising red flags all over the department anyway. But it does open a very interesting field of study. Perhaps we could eradicate "stunted discus" syndrome altogether!

Darn... I'm way too bored....
Cheers
Marc

[brewmaster15]

Marc,
I did some work with GH related compounds in the lab in assay development. Sorry to hear you lost your lab job.

It may work, but depends on the cause of the stunting in the fish. You would need a controlled experiment with a group of fish stunted for the same reason (impossible to know) and about the same age to draw any meaningfull conclusions.

I do not advocate the use of hormones on fish and am very against their use. From a scientific point of view a more meaning experiment would be to take a group of Fry from the same parent,same age, all normal... split in 2 groups... treat one, not the other... and follow the growth for a year. See if theres any effect..make notes if there is any significant growth differences. A good observation may also show a decreased frequency of runts in the treated group.

Would I do it given the chance.. probably not.

-al

[ShinShin]

Several years ago I had experimented with several amino acids (protein building blocks and hormones are proteins for those who have no science background) that are precursors to GH. I added them to my turkey/seafood mix. The results were awful. I had discus with fins like angels, as well as distorted pectoral fins. Nothing was really in proportion. I had to guess on amounts used as there are no established requirements for discus on the lable, just human dosages to be added to food. I gave up. Dumped several batches of fry down the drain.

I would not experiment with the hormones you have, either.

Mat

[sidra]

I say don't mess with mother nature. She tends to be a revengeful woman!