GABA and HGH-related problems

[Colin Gilbert]

Hi all!

I was wondering a few things about GABA... We all know that injecting human growth hormone can lead to abnormally large ears, nose, and chin. I am wondering if GABA has the same side effects due to it's HGH-increasing effects... GABA increases HGH production by 5.5 times for around 6 hours after consumption. It doesn't seem like a small amount, so I am wondering about those as side effects (unlike side effects from ZMA, which only raises testosterone by 30%...) Please inform me.


Thanks!
Colin

[highpower1111]

Hi all!

I was wondering a few things about GABA... We all know that injecting human growth hormone can lead to abnormally large ears, nose, and chin. I am wondering if GABA has the same side effects due to it's HGH-increasing effects... GABA increases HGH production by 5.5 times for around 6 hours after consumption. It doesn't seem like a small amount, so I am wondering about those as side effects (unlike side effects from ZMA, which only raises testosterone by 30%...) Please inform me.


Thanks!
Colin

Sorry but i don't think GABA has a significant effect on HGH or IGF-1 levels.

[Colin Gilbert]

Sorry but i don't think GABA has a significant effect on HGH or IGF-1 levels.

Sorry, I should have posted a few sources to back up those claims:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/gaba.html
http://www.betterbodz.com/library/humangro.html
http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/su...on-effects.htm
http://www.hotlib.com/articles/show....o_Increase_HGH

[highpower1111]

Sorry, I should have posted a few sources to back up those claims:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/gaba.html
http://www.betterbodz.com/library/humangro.html
http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/su...on-effects.htm
http://www.hotlib.com/articles/show....o_Increase_HGH

There are definitely sources, but how many people have noticed significant increases in their gains from taking GABA? Thats what i'm trying to get at.

[Colin Gilbert]

There are definitely sources, but how many people have noticed significant increases in their gains from taking GABA? Thats what i'm trying to get at.

Oh, I'm not trying to make gains just yet... I'm trying to use it to burn the excess fat (on top of proper diet and exercise, of course .) I should have posted that... According to bb.com, few studies on hGH have been made specifically regarding muscle gains (and it seems that AAS work better in that respect), but the lipolytic effects have been seen every time they've conducted a study.

What I'm wondering, though, is if a 5x increase is more than or less than injecting hGH directly? I don't want to suffer from side effects such as excessive nose and ear growth... Don't wanna be pinocchio .


Thanks!
Colin

[The Abomination]

I wouldn't expect any results from GABA other than a good night's sleep.

[Magnetic]

Hi all!

I was wondering a few things about GABA... We all know that injecting human growth hormone can lead to abnormally large ears, nose, and chin. I am wondering if GABA has the same side effects due to it's HGH-increasing effects... GABA increases HGH production by 5.5 times for around 6 hours after consumption. It doesn't seem like a small amount, so I am wondering about those as side effects (unlike side effects from ZMA, which only raises testosterone by 30%...) Please inform me.


Thanks!
Colin

It's a rather broad statement to assume that increased GH levels will lead to symptoms of acromegaly in all individuals. There are several clinical parameters to consider in your scenario such as age (especially in terms of growth plate closure), frequency of dosage, length of administration, etc. Furthermore, there are HPA feedback loops that function to maintain homeostasis. You must also consider the study that reported 500% + increases in GH levels. How old were the subjects? If they were 60 year old females with already suppressed GH levels, even mildly stimulated GH levels could appear as multiple fold increases.

[cubbybear]

It's a total waste of money because it just doesn't work. There are greater happenings in your body from things that you already do, like eating and sleeping every day. I remember when GABA came out. It was right after GHB went off the market, as it's intended replacement. I remember the owner of that gym and a handful of his friends at the time were taking GHB and joking about how it would put them asleep. They thought they were going to get big off the stuff, but then it was taken off the market after people started abusing it and it became a date rape drug. GABA was then touted as the next big thing while safer than GHB (which had some horror stories about making people have seizures and worse, and in reality probably didn't help anybody's bodybuilding efforts anyways). As soon as I heard about GHB it was taken off the market and I never tried it, but when GABA then came out I read into all the hype and wasted my money. Like so many other "next big things", it failed miserably. I can't believe companies still try to sell stuff like that after all these years knowing it just doesn't do anything.

[Colin Gilbert]

Thanks for the input, guys! I knew that many of the patients would be older and hence get a five-fold increase, but if they're 60 years old, they have around 1/4 of the hGH that a 19 year-old male would... Maybe it would translate to a 2x increase for me (assuming it works.)


Thanks for your patience, guys!
Colin

[Magnetic]

It's a total waste of money because it just doesn't work. There are greater happenings in your body from things that you already do, like eating and sleeping every day. I remember when GABA came out. It was right after GHB went off the market, as it's intended replacement. I remember the owner of that gym and a handful of his friends at the time were taking GHB and joking about how it would put them asleep. They thought they were going to get big off the stuff, but then it was taken off the market after people started abusing it and it became a date rape drug. GABA was then touted as the next big thing while safer than GHB (which had some horror stories about making people have seizures and worse, and in reality probably didn't help anybody's bodybuilding efforts anyways). As soon as I heard about GHB it was taken off the market and I never tried it, but when GABA then came out I read into all the hype and wasted my money. Like so many other "next big things", it failed miserably. I can't believe companies still try to sell stuff like that after all these years knowing it just doesn't do anything.

It's wise to avoid broad generalizations of saying something doesn't work when in reality it may have just not worked for you. You are not representative of the entire population. It's equivalent to generalizing a case-study as being representative of a population-based study. You simply can't do that. "There are greater happenings in your body from things that you already do, like eating and sleeping every day." Your statement contradicts your negative claim. When do you think the majority of your growth hormone release occurs? During sleep. Most adults do not get adequate sleep to begin with and GH release occurs at a very specific phase of the sleep process. Couple that with decreased GH release as one ages and you greatly reduce optimal GH levels. As for GABA as a potential GH stimulant, there are numerous studies that report a positive impact on in vivo GH levels. Furthermore, GABA is biochemically and physiologically distinct from GHB and there is a biological basis for its potential. Pituitary cells contain GABA receptors that mediate GH release. GH release as a result of GABA binding to its receptors is an autocrine mechanism, therefore, a direct consequence, as opposed to a paracrine mechanism.

The other thing to consider is that GH is a slow-acting hormone. One cannot expect immediate benefits as you may with something like creatine. To put it in simple context, were you the size you are now as you were at birth? GH, with the assistance of other endocrine hormones, had a large role in that progressive growth and obviously one that took several years into your teens and beyond. If you question the role of GABA in GH release, read the following:

1. Obal F Jr, Krueger JM. GHRH and sleep. Sleep Med Rev. 2004 Oct;8(5):367-77.

2. Gamel-Didelon K, Kunz L, Fohr KJ, Gratzl M, Mayerhofer A. Molecular and physiological evidence for functional gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-C receptors in growth hormone-secreting cells. J Biol Chem. 2003 May 30;278(22):20192-5. Epub 2003 Mar 26.

3. Gamel-Didelon K, Corsi C, Pepeu G, Jung H, Gratzl M, Mayerhofer A. An autocrine role for pituitary GABA: activation of GABA-B receptors and regulation of growth hormone levels. Neuroendocrinology. 2002 Sep;76(3):170-7.

4. Pannell C, Simonian SX, Gillies GE, Luscher B, Herbison AE. Hypothalamic ****tostatin and growth hormone-releasing hormone mRNA expression depend upon GABA(A) receptor expression in the developing mouse. Neuroendocrinology. 2002 Aug;76(2):93-8.

5. Pinilla L, Gonzalez LC, Tena-Sempere M, Aguilar E. Interactions between GABAergic and aminoacidergic pathways in the control of gonadotropin and GH secretion in pre-pubertal female rats. J Endocrinol Invest. 2002 Feb;25(2):96-100.

[cubbybear]

It sounded very promising on paper back in about 1990, and as a result I was excited and tried it for a couple months. The articles and advertizements in the magazines compared it with and touted it as a replacement for GHB after it was taken off the market and of course it was all hyped up. In all fairness though, I suppose all I can say is that GABA didn't do anything for me as I hoped it would after reading about it. The next few months I spoke with a handful of others at the gym who tried it and without exception they were also dissappointed that it didn't work for them either. After a while it stopped showing up in the bodybuilding magazines and kind of just faded away as newer supplements were released.

[Peter LeDrew]

It's wise to avoid broad generalizations of saying something doesn't work when in reality it may have just not worked for you. You are not representative of the entire population. It's equivalent to generalizing a case-study as being representative of a population-based study. You simply can't do that. "There are greater happenings in your body from things that you already do, like eating and sleeping every day." Your statement contradicts your negative claim. When do you think the majority of your growth hormone release occurs? During sleep. Most adults do not get adequate sleep to begin with and GH release occurs at a very specific phase of the sleep process. Couple that with decreased GH release as one ages and you greatly reduce optimal GH levels. As for GABA as a potential GH stimulant, there are numerous studies that report a positive impact on in vivo GH levels. Furthermore, GABA is biochemically and physiologically distinct from GHB and there is a biological basis for its potential. Pituitary cells contain GABA receptors that mediate GH release. GH release as a result of GABA binding to its receptors is an autocrine mechanism, therefore, a direct consequence, as opposed to a paracrine mechanism.

The other thing to consider is that GH is a slow-acting hormone. One cannot expect immediate benefits as you may with something like creatine. To put it in simple context, were you the size you are now as you were at birth? GH, with the assistance of other endocrine hormones, had a large role in that progressive growth and obviously one that took several years into your teens and beyond. If you question the role of GABA in GH release, read the following:

1. Obal F Jr, Krueger JM. GHRH and sleep. Sleep Med Rev. 2004 Oct;8(5):367-77.

2. Gamel-Didelon K, Kunz L, Fohr KJ, Gratzl M, Mayerhofer A. Molecular and physiological evidence for functional gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-C receptors in growth hormone-secreting cells. J Biol Chem. 2003 May 30;278(22):20192-5. Epub 2003 Mar 26.

3. Gamel-Didelon K, Corsi C, Pepeu G, Jung H, Gratzl M, Mayerhofer A. An autocrine role for pituitary GABA: activation of GABA-B receptors and regulation of growth hormone levels. Neuroendocrinology. 2002 Sep;76(3):170-7.

4. Pannell C, Simonian SX, Gillies GE, Luscher B, Herbison AE. Hypothalamic ****tostatin and growth hormone-releasing hormone mRNA expression depend upon GABA(A) receptor expression in the developing mouse. Neuroendocrinology. 2002 Aug;76(2):93-8.

5. Pinilla L, Gonzalez LC, Tena-Sempere M, Aguilar E. Interactions between GABAergic and aminoacidergic pathways in the control of gonadotropin and GH secretion in pre-pubertal female rats. J Endocrinol Invest. 2002 Feb;25(2):96-100.

Good post and I agree.
Whether its use would translate to increased muscle growth and safety issues remain inconclusive so I would stay away.

[ekilla2003]

5.5times growth hormone for six hours wouldnt that make you grow taller