Meso's IGF-1 Guide

Gains retention is increased if IGF is used in a cycle I am not sure why, but IGF-1 seems to make gains on a cycle stick with virtually no post cycle loss. Every bodybuilder I've spoken with seems to think this for some reason. Most of them use drugs like Anadrol or Dianabol with it because of the amount of size attained with these drugs. The usual draw back to these drugs is that in most users there is a post cycle "crash" that occurs, so the reasoning is to toss IGF-1 into the stack and grow larger faster with out the post cycle crash blues. 


Reverses testicular atrophy 
Testicles if shrunken will return to "full swing" so to speak even in the middle of a cycle. If not shrunken they will not shrink during the cycle. This may explain partially why gains are kept after the cycle. 
Fatigue 
Users report feeling drained and tired all day. This seems to be one of the negative side effects to IGF-1, it will make you sleep longer and you will require more sleep at night to feel rested for the morning. This is common with high doses of HGH and exhibited in children, whose IGF-1 levels are extraordinarily high. A child needs 4 hours more sleep than an adult on average does. This may be directly or indirectly related to IGF-1 levels. 
Stiffness 
An almost arthritic feeling is commonly associated with high levels of HGH, well IGF-1 has the exact same property. IGF-1 will cause your hands, fingers and knuckles to ache this is one way you can be sure you got real IGF-1. 



IGF-1's Side effects 
Every thing has a down side. To bake a cake ya gotta brake an egg. IGF-1 is no exception. The drug used in larger quantity around the 100mcg+ range will cause headaches, occasional nausea and can contribute to low blood sugar or hypoglycemia in some users. Although I have never heard of this first hand I'm sure its true. 

IGF-1 will attach its self to the lining of the intestine and cause atrophy of the gut. Every thing IGF-1 touches will grow and you have a lot of receptors on the lining of the large intestine and inner wall of the abdominal well. This is what causes the HGH gut look. You can easily avoid this by limiting your dosages and cycle lengths. IGF-1 cycles should be kept to 4-6 weeks with 4-6 weeks off in-between. IGF-1 is considerably more powerful than HGH and you need to think of it along those lines as far as dosing goes. We all know what to much HGH can do over prolonged periods of usage. The Neanderthal look is definitely not going to win any shows this year. I would recommend 80 mcg a day for 4 weeks at a time you should get good results from that for a while. I don't know if you will need to up the dosage at any point, but I would think in the case of IGF-1 it wouldn't matter. If 80mcg doesn't do it for ya, then bump it up to 100 You should definitely feel it at this point If not suspect the IGF-1 as being fake. Beyond 120 mcg per day your asking for trouble, This compound demands as much respect as its sister amino Insulin. 


Clinical Facts about IGF-1 
IGF-1 is a polypeptide of 70 amino acids (7650 daltons), and is one of a number of related insulin-like growth factors present in the circulation. The molecule shows approximately 50% sequence homology with pro insulin and has a number of biological activities similar to insulin. IGF-1 is a mediator of longitudinal growth in humans or how tall you are capable of becoming. Serum IGF-1 concentrations are altered by age, nutritional status, body composition, and growth hormone secretion. A single basal IGF-1 level is useful in the assessment of short stature in children and in nutritional support studies of acutely ill patients. For the diagnosis of acromegaly, a single IGF-1 concentration is more reliable than a random hHGH measurement (Oppizi, et al., 1986). IGF-1 can be used for the assessment of disease activity in acromegaly (Barkan, et al., 198. 


Almost all (>95%) of serum IGF-1 circulates bound to specific IGF binding proteins (IGF BPs), of which six classes (IGF BPs 1-6) have been identified (Rudd, 1991). BP3 is thought to be the major binding protein of IGF-1

IGF-1 Once Again Proves to be One of the Most Powerful Mediators of Muscle Growth 

As we approach the new millennium we find the science of building muscle progressing faster than ever before. Long gone are the days of simple trial and error when it comes to building muscle. The modern bodybuilder demands more than just "hear say" if they are to adopt a new training routine or nutritional supplement. This column was created to keep today???s bodybuilder on the cutting edge of scientific research that might benefit them in their quest for body perfection. 

Not since the travels of Juan Ponce de Leon has the fountain of youth seemed so close! 
Title: 
Viral mediated expression of insulin-like growth factor I blocks the aging-related loss of skeletal muscle function 
Researchers: 
Elisabeth R. Barton-Davis*, Daria I. Shoturma*, Antonio Musaro, Nadia Rosenthal, and H. Lee Sweeney*, 
* Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA and Cardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 
Source: 
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1998 Dec 22;95(26):15603-7 

Summary: 
Although the mechanisms underlying age associated muscle loss are not entirely understood, researchers attempted to moderate the loss by increasing the regenerative capacity of muscle. This involved the injection of a recombinant adeno-associated virus directing over expression of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) in differentiated muscle fibers. 
They demonstrated that the IGF-I expression promotes an average increase of 15% in muscle mass and a 14% increase in strength in young adult mice (Figure 1), and remarkably, prevents aging-related muscle changes in old adult mice, resulting in a 27% increase in strength as compared with uninjected old muscles (Figure 2). Muscle mass and fiber type distributions were maintained at levels similar to those in young adults. These results suggest that gene transfer of IGF-I into muscle could form the basis of a human gene therapy for preventing the loss of muscle function associated with aging and may be of benefit in diseases where the rate of damage to skeletal muscle is accelerated. 
Discussion: 
I???m not sure where to begin. This study has the potential to completely change the way we age. 
In this experiment, a recombinant adeno-associated virus, directing over expression of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) in mature muscle fibers, was injected into the muscles of mice. The DNA that was originally in the virus was removed along with markers that stimulate immune response. DNA coding for IGF-1 was then put into the virus along with a promoter gene to ensure high rates of transcription. The results, as you can see by figures 1 & 2, were dramatic. 
IGF-1 plays a crucial role in muscle regeneration. IGF-1 stimulates both proliferation and differentiation of stem cells in an autocrine-paracrine manner, although it induces differentiation to a much greater degree. IGF-1, when injected locally, increases satellite cell activity, muscle DNA, muscle protein content, muscle weight and muscle cross sectional area. The importance of IGF-1 lies in the fact that all of its apparent functions act to induce muscle growth with or without overload although it really shines as a growth promoter when combined with physical loading of the muscle. 

IGF-1 also acts as an endocrine growth factor having an anabolic effect on distant tissues once released into the blood stream by the liver. IGF-1 possesses the insulin-like property of inhibiting degradation, but in addition can stimulate protein synthesis. The insulin-like effects are probably due to the similarity of the signaling pathways between insulin and IGF-1 following ligand binding at the receptors. 
The ability of IGF-I to stimulate protein synthesis resembles the action of HGH, which was shown in separate studies on volunteers to stimulate protein synthesis without affecting protein degradation. Although it is often believed that the effects of HGH are mediated through IGF-1, this cannot be the case entirely. First, the effects of the two hormones are different, in that HGH does not change protein degradation. Second, the effect of HGH is observed with little or no change in systemic IGF-1 concentrations. Age related muscle loss has been prevented with HGH injections, however it is believed that this is accomplished through IGF-1. 
The results of this study are similar to other studies where IGF-1 was injected directly into muscle tissue, resulting in increases in size and strength of experimental animals. Using a virus as a genetic vehicle has an advantage over simply injecting the growth factor. The effects of a single viral treatment last significantly longer (months if not years) because the muscle cell itself is constantly overproducing its own IGF-1 from injected DNA. 
The fact that the IGF-1 produced by the muscle of these mice did not reach the blood stream is interesting. Systemic injections of IGF-1 have not been successful in inducing this kind of anabolic effect in humans. In addition, IGF-1 produced by the liver is genetically different than that produced by muscle tissue. It could be that providing additional DNA for the muscle to produce it???s own IGF-1 is the key to achieving anabolic and rejuvenative effects specifically in skeletal muscle. 
In this study there was a preferential preservation of type IIb muscle fibers in aging mice. These are the fibers most sensitive to muscle hypertrophy from training and they are also the first fibers to disappear with aging. In the mice receiving the engineered virus, there was also a preservation of the motor neuron, leading to an increase in functional capacity. It is speculated that age related muscle loss is secondary to the loss of neuronal activation of type-II fibers. By preventing the degeneration of typ-II motor units, functional capacity could be maintained into old age. This technique may also serve useful in the prevention of osteoporosis. Further study is necessary to determine whether IGF-1 is having an effect only on muscle fibers or on nervous tissues as well. 
Finally, it was also exciting to see muscle growth in the young mice who received the injection (15% increase in muscle mass). This means that the injection provided levels of IGF-1 far and above what the muscle normally has access to and not simply a preservation of normal levels. Remember that this was not combined with exercise. The growth of the injected muscles happened even without an extreme mechanical stimulus. The mice were simply allowed to run around as they usually do. Because of these dramatic results, the authors expressed concern about the use of this technique to enhance performance or cosmetic appearance. Research Update is not my personal soap box so I won???t go off on the gender centered hypocrisy of cosmetic enhancement in our society. All we can hope for is that this technique will be used to treat more important diseases such as muscular dystrophy and thereby become somewhat available for other uses as well.