Study summary · research use only
Growth hormone secretagogues: out of competition
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This study describes development of a screening test for growth hormone secretagogues (GHS) in doping control, targeting the shared ability of GHS compounds to bind the GHS receptor 1a (GHS-R1a). Pretreated human urine samples were tested in a competition assay in which GHS presence displaced a radiolabelled ligand from the receptor in a dose-dependent manner; blank urine samples were used to assess age, gender, and exercise effects and to set a positivity threshold. Samples from a growth hormone releasing peptide 2 (GHRP-2) excretion study supported the assay's applicability, showing a detection window of approximately 4.5 h, with results confirmed by a dedicated LC-MS quantification of the intact compound.
Abstract
Growth hormone secretagogues (GHS) constitute a new GH deficiency treatment increasing exponentially in number and improved potency and bioavailability over the last decade. The growth hormone releasing activity makes these compounds attractive for the artificial improvement of the human sports skills, now that recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) administration is effectively detected. The GHS family is extremely diverse both in number and chemical heterogeneity and keeps growing continuously. In this paper, a general screening test is proposed. To develop a universal method, the single common property of growth hormone secretagogues has been targeted: their capacity to bind to the GHS receptor 1a (GHS-R1a). Pretreated urine samples have been tested in a competition assay where eventually the GHS presence detached a radiolabelled ligand from the receptor in a dose-dependent manner. Blank urine samples were processed to determine potential age, gender and exercise effects, and to define a threshold beyond which a specimen is considered positive. Samples from a growth hormone releasing peptide 2 (GHRP-2) excretion study corroborated the screening assay applicability with a detection window of approximately 4.5 h, and results were confirmed by comparison with a dedicated LC-MS quantification of the intact compound.
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