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Garvan Institute

Sections
 

Pituitary

 

Group Leader
Professor Ken Ho

 

Testing for Growth Hormone (GH) is difficult because the GH used in doping is indistinguishable by normal methods, from the GH made by the body itself. Although the use of GH is banned, there is anecdotal evidence that GH doping is widespread, so a reliable test is required to deter its abuse. Our work is focused on identifying factors regulating the different forms of GH, called isoforms, and on proteins that respond to the growth hormone signal. We are investigating the biological interactions between testosterone and GH in recreational athletes. We are also using microarray gene profiling to identify novel markers of GH in peripheral blood cells. The aim is to develop a gene fingerprint test based on gene expression profiling of blood.

 

Staff

 

Dr Vita BirznieceResearch Fellow
Dr Vita Birzniece

Jing Ting ZhaoSenior Research Officer
Dr Jing Ting Zhao

Daniel ChenEndocrine Registrar
Dr Daniel Chen

Research Assistant
Surya Sutanto
Vanessa TraversResearch Nurse
Vanessa Travers
Paul LeePhD Student
Dr Paul Lee

 

 

 

 

News

 

First scientific study showing effects of growth hormone on athletes

MEDIA RELEASE: 04 May 2010
Garvan researchers have published the results of a study, for the first time showing a positive effect of growth hormone on athletic performance, specifically sprint capacity. The study justifies growth hormone being a banned substance, even though evidence of its performance enhancing effect has been very poor until now.
 
 

Why women should eat less, move more and consider wearing transdermal patches during menopause

MEDIA RELEASE: 24 Nov 2008
Weight and appetite experts from around the world met at a conference in Bangkok earlier this year to discuss sex differences in obesity. One line of discussion looked at factors leading to women’s weight gain during menopause, and how it might be avoided.
 
 

Are the benefits of growth hormone in the athlete's mind?

25 Jun 2008
A new study undertaken by scientists in Garvan's Pituitary Research Unit demonstrates the 'placebo effect' in sport. If athletes believe they are using a performance-enhancing drug, they may think their performance improves, and in some it can, even if they are actually taking a dummy drug.
 
 

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