For a long time, I have noticed that one type of Traditional Chinese or Oriental Medicinal plant or supplement keeps appearing over and over again as a possible height increase or grow taller miracle herb. The name of it translated into English is “Tian Qi”.

From what is written about it on websites which young Chinese and Korean people who are internet savy congregate, it seems that this magical herb has this trait to make at least young children taller. This suggest that the herb may have some real possibilities. In my research, I have found at least 3-4 elements or compounds which a person could take orally which has some slight affect in increasing the endochondral ossification process of young children.

From a webpage that catalogs traditional chinese herbs used for medicinal applications HERE there is a very small section and real information about the plant…

Pseudo Ginseng ( Tian Qi ) 田七 Chinese Herbs Articles

Pseudo Ginseng ( Tian Qi ) 田七 Chinese Herbs Articles, also known as tian san qi 田三七, jin bu huan 金不換, han san qi 旱三七, tian qi 田七, shen san qi 參三七. It belong to the “” family.

Pseudo Ginseng ( Tian Qi ) 田七 sweet, slightly bitter and warm properties. It is use for treating the liver, stomach and large intestine.

Pseudo Ginseng ( Tian Qi ) 田七 Medical Function:

1. Stop bleeding and anticoagulation: anticoagulation of platelets, promotes dissolving of fibrinogens.
2. Anti-inflammation.
3. Relieving pain.
4. Calming.
5. Enhances the effects of adrenocortical hormone: regulate the metabolism of     sugar.
6. Protects liver.
7. Anti cancer.
8. Improve capillary circulation: anti fatigue.
9. Anti aging.
10. Arrest bleeding (active chemical:dencichine, there is more of that in raw tian      qi ).

Pseudo Ginseng ( Tian Qi ) 田七 Cautions Use:

Allergic reaction: face and eyes becomes red and swollen. Numbness in the limbs, dizziness, heaviness in the chest, palpitation, sweating, nausea, arrhythmia.

From another website NaturalNews.com…

(NaturalNews) Chinese Tien Qi root (Panax Pseudo-Ginseng) in a raw fine powdered form is carried by most Asian soldiers as standard military issue. It is carried in a small bottle for pouring into an open wound or for taking internally if necessary.

The reason this is standard issue is its amazing ability to “re-direct” the blood from an open wound and even helps push or “float” metal objects to the surface. It can literally help stop bleeding without necessarily clotting. However, it can aid in clotting if it is necessary. It’s almost as if it has a mind of its own. The Chinese say it “disciplines the blood”; also when taken internally, it can really speed up the healing time of wounds, broken bones, or most any tissue damage.

Tien Qi powder is taken internally for many reasons such as healing from an operation, wounds, internal bleeding and broken bones. This is 100% applicable to female problems of severe menstrual bleeding. Tien Qi is used commonly by Chinese women for this. It is very effective.

About ¼ to ½ teaspoon of the powder dissolved in hot water or tea is taken 2-3 times a day for internal use. I have always noticed a nice warm energy coming from the stomach area and found that when I take it, I am very alert and more focused than usual. Most likely due to the “discipline of the blood” around the brain area.

Tien Qi (Main herb) is also used in a very famous Chinese liniment called Zhang Gu Shui to facilitate healing of broken bones and sprains due to its ability to disperse blood from an injury. It will stop bruises and other hematoma quickly by this dispersion. The exact formula is “kept secret” but everyone knows that it is Tien Qi in a menthol-camphor base. (The Menthol Camphor helps carry the herb deep into the tissue.)

I used to practice the marshal art (Kung Fu) and there was always a bottle of Zhang Gu Shui around at all tournaments in case someone was injured. I have heard countless stories of major Karate tournaments in China where someone’s leg had been broken fighting so they wrapped the leg, putting cotton balls soaked in Zheng Gu Shui under the wrap and sent him back to fight! (and he won)

When I had my small herbal clinic, there were many doctors and nurses that would stop by and get a bottle of Zheng Gu Shui from me because they had seen how fast it speeded the healing of broken bones and sprains.

You will began to get a glimpse of this amazing herb’s healing abilities after you read the following three examples, and I am sure you will understand why I am so impressed by it. The reason I say this is because oddly enough, these three following “case histories” had nothing to do with any of my patients but had everything to do with me and my own stupid misfortunes! And I swear to you! Nothing is made up here (I wish it was), I only hope I don’t get the “privilege” of having any more reasons to “brag” about the amazing healing powers of this herb.

From another internet source, Before It’s News of an article entitled “Chinese Herbs In Western View – San Qi Or Tian Qi (Radix Pseudoginseng) Health Benefits And Side Effects”

San Qi is also known as pseudoginseng root. The sweet, slight bitter and warm herb has been used in TCM as anticoagulation, Anti-inflammation, anti cancers and anti aging agent and to lower cholesterol, stop bleeding, improve capillary circulation, etc., as it eliminates Blood accumulation, stops bleeding, Moves Blood, calms pain, etc. by enhancing the functions of liver, stomach and large intestine channels.

 Ingredients

1. Ginsenoside
2. Gamma-muurolene
3. Cyperene
4. Alpha-elemene
5. Gammma-cadinene
6. Delta-cadinene
7. Alpha-gurjunene
8. Alpha-guaiene
9.  Alpha-copaene
10. Beta-cuabebene PN and EPGF can promote VEC proliferation, migration, DNA synthesis and VEGF mRNA expression. The results suggest that they have a certain effect on the genesis and development of new vessels in the ischemic myocardium.
11. Caryophyllene
12. Delta-guaiene
13. Alpha-cedrene
14. Etc.

Health Benefits
1. HUVEC proliferation and secretion of VEGF
In the study to evaluate  the effects of Radix Ginseng and Radix Notoginseng formula on secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro, indicated that RadixGinseng and Radix Notoginseng formula can promote HUVEC proliferation and secretion of VEGF, as well as the expression of VEGFR-2 protein, which may be one of the mechanisms of Radix Ginseng and RadixNotoginseng formula in promoting angiogenesis(1).

2. Vascular endothelial cell proliferation and migration
In the study to investigate the effects of extracts from Panax notoginseng (EPN) and Panax ginseng fruit (EPGF) on the proliferation and migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro, showed that PN and EPGF can promote VEC proliferation, migration, DNA synthesis and VEGF mRNA expression. The results suggest that they have a certain effect on the genesis and development of new vessels in the ischemic myocardium(2).

3. Angiogenic effect 
In the study to obser the angiogenic effects of PNS on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro and zebrafish in vivo, found that PNS can promote angiogenesis, and that the proangiogenic effects involve the VEGF-KDR/Flk-1 and PI3K-Akt-eNOS signaling pathways(3).

4. Renal interstitial fibrosis
In the study to investigate the effects of compound Radix Notoginseng (RN) on renal interstitial fibrosis and kidney-targeting treatment, the result indicated that RN and compound Radix Notoginseng(CRN) can inhibit UUO-induced renal interstitial fibrosis in rats, and CRN treatment is more effective than RN in reducing interstitial fibrosis(4).

5. Herpes simplex virus
In the study of Notoginsenoside ST-4 inhibits virus penetration of herpes simplex virus in vitro, researchers found that analyzed by attachment assay and penetration assay based on plaque reduction assay, the antiviral activity of notoginsenoside ST-4 was principally due to the penetration inhibition effects, which was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy observation that notoginsenoside ST-4 blocked the penetration of virus. Therefore, notoginsenoside ST-4 might be a promising agent for herpes simplex virus infection(5).

6. Ischemic stroke
With the aim to investigate the synergistic action of low dose of aspirin combined with sanchitongshu capsule in the treatment of patients with light and moderate ischemic stroke in acute and subacute stages, with participants  assigned either to receive aspirin (50mg per day) and sanchitongshu capsule (200mg three times a day) or aspirin (50mg per day) and placebo capsule, showed that  low dose of aspirin combined with sanchitongshu capsule significantly ameliorated neurological deficit (increased score of ESS: t=-5.02, p<0.0001) and activities of daily living (increased score of BI: t=-2.4, p=0.0178) after treatment compared with aspirin alone. Adverse reaction which occurred equally in both arms, was light to moderate and disappeared without special treatment. Sanchitongshu capsule, as a complementary medicine to aspirin, was effective in improving outcomes after ischemic stroke. It was a safe drug in our trial(6).

7. Etc.

Side Effects

1. the herb may cause allergic effects
2. Do not use the herb in newborn, children or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without first consulting with the related field specialist.
3. Etc.

Analysis & Interpretation:

What really surprised me about the last source is that the article seems to have been written using articles and studies one finds from PubMed. There is around 5 cited reference articles which I will post below…

Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20388479
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18568327
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19107746
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22455126
(5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21623512

So the question to ask then is, what should we make out of it?

Does Tian Qi which does seem to have a lot of medical benefits have any sound scientifc basis on why it would make children who are still growing taller?

From this website HERE I would like to quote the last sentence on this unique plant…

“When children exhibit slow growth, Notoginseng may be used to speed up the growth process.”

Notoginseng, also referred to as Panax pseudoginseng, belongs to the same genus as Chinese Ginseng, Panax. Notoginseng or Pseudoginseng is usually found in China and Japan,

Notoginseng is also known as SānQì (three-seven) in Chinese, because it is believed that the best Notoginseng should be harvested between three and seven years. Notoginseng that is harvested earlier or later than that will not be as efficacious, particularly in its haemostatic action.

Because of Notoginseng’s ability to help improve Blood stasis, reduce swelling and pain, and ease bleeding, it is considered an important herb in TCM, and is widely believed to help treat traumatic injuries, various kinds of bleeding, and used in many emergencies. Notoginseng is also dubbed as Jīnbúhuàn, which is translated to mean “cannot be exchanged for gold” because of its precious medicinal value. In fact, the famous anti-inflammation and pain formula Pìanzihuáng includes Notoginseng as a main ingredient.

As one of the earliest herbs ever researched on, Notoginseng has been proven scientifically to be effective in assisting the treatment of Heart diseases, particularly with regards to the narrowing of arteries. It is also effective in managing cholesterol and fat levels.

Analysis & Interpretation:

What is repeated over and over again is the idea that this medicine will…

“…it activates the circulation of Blood and Qi, and helps to restore energy. It also nourishes the Blood and promotes metabolism in the elderly and the weak”

There seems to be another type of traditional chinese medicine which has been claimed by Chinese natives known as HUA SHEN GEN (chinese soup) which is supposed to help increase the growth process and make still growing teenagers taller than if they didn’t use the herb.

What the websites at least on the internet keeps on saying is that this plant which is similar to ginseng has a host of useful properties. It is supposed to help treat or prevent inflammation, infections, cancers, and a host of other chronic problems.

The two things that would be important for our research is that this Traditional Chinese Medicine herb (TCM herb) can…

1. Make blood flow out of the human body stop
2. Make bones that are broken heal 

Traditional Chinese Medicine uses the idea of Chi to explain body function and processes. I don’t want to use that type fo pseudoscience to validate why this herb could possibly work. Since it has been used even in Martial Arts tournaments to stop bleeding and such, there is probably something of an active ingredient found in the Tian Qi which does have some properties. The practitioners of TCM say that the herb can stop bleeding by redirectly blood flow away from the wound where the blood is coming from.

There is a chinese liniment named Zhang Gu Shui which has two parts, the Tian Qi and a base of menthol camphor. The menthol camphor is guessed to be the active ingredient to get the Tian Qi ingredient further down into the human body for effect. It seems that from the few PubMed studies which were cited in the 3rd article pasted above, the Tian Qi has growth factor increasing or stimulating properties. It can increase the VEGF from HUVEC which is basically multipotent stem cells. The HUVEC increase proliferation means that it might be possible to get cells in blood which is being released after a wound to rapidly differentiate skin tissue or blood vessel tissue to develop and redirect any possible lost blood back into the system.

As for our desire to grow taller, since there is evidence from studies from PubMed that show that the pseudo-ginseng can it can help increase the proliferation of stem cells, this can have definite possibilites on how the chondrocytes in the resting zone of the growth plates will end up.

This is one of those posts where an idea is talked about which helps height increase researchers turn their head into a completely new direction of research and study.

Analysis & Interpretation

This new way of developing slow distraction in the long bones of the leg is something I have not seen before. It seems to use principles of material science engineering to expand the long bones. What might be difficult for height increase seekers to accept is that idea that two metal rods might first have to be implanted into the long bones for the distraction to happen non-invasively later.

There is indeed a stage where surgery is need to get the rods in initially. However, the later process would be noninvasive.

What is the most interesting about this idea is that it is beyond anything the traditional medical professional like surgeons or genetic researchers can ever come up with. The smart material that is being suggested is a very new technology and the idea of first implanting a precompressed rod and then letting it decompress is very impressive and something I would not have thought of if the idea was not suggested.

In theory the idea could work. The Shape Memory Implants are something which I would have to do much more research on since the field this idea comes from, Material Science Engineering, and maybe even Nanotechnology is very new.

Implications For Height Increase

This idea of using surgery to implant memory shape rods which will eventually extend and decompress to push the length of bones up is reasonable in theory. However the actual implementation of this idea could take decades of research and testing before it would be reasonable for humans to use for limb lengthening. In addition, the idea of getting very invasive surgery to have form changing rods implanted into the bones would not be appealing to most people, not even the most hard core of height increase seekers.

From the PedMed website entitled “Pediatric Medical Devices – Interactive Idea Campaign

Noninvasive bone distraction using a shape memory implant

D112  Category: Deformity  Submitted by  Avi Feb 24 2010  Status: New idea

Tags:  braceslimbinequality

This idea solves an effective, minimally invasive way to treat lower limb leg length inequality

It involves the implantation of shape memory rods on either bone in the leg.  These rods are placed in a pre-compressed state and are intended to provide axial pressure on the bones.  An external cuff is worn to create mild stress fractures in the bone that are no more painful than a shin splint.  The pre-stressed rods cause distraction osteogenesis.

Recently I found a patent which seems to propose the idea that there might something even simpler and easier we can do to stimulate bone growth. Bone growth implies increasing bone density and possibly also accelerated rates of bone fracture healing. The simpler idea is to create food types with certain chemical inside which can stimulate bone density increase.

This inventor seems to have a patent for certain compounds they have either created or hypothesizes will stimulate bone growth from oral ingestion.

Analysis & Interpretation

The idea of the invention is to reformulate statin and other bone growth enhancing chemicals compounds into edible supplements a person can put in their food already to gain a very easy natural way of bone growth.

The thing is that the inventor is very comprehensive in their research. They admit that the BMP group has osteogenic properties but because they are peptides, they can’t be taken orally but need to be injected subcutenously (under the skin) into the blood stream. Plus, the BMP seems to be produced by different parts of the body and has effects on different parts of the body. If the BMP was taken orally, it would have an overal systemic affect on the entire body, not just the specific local areas the inventor is hoping to target.

For The Researcher, What Is The Science Behind This Claim?

The thing about BMPs are that they are produced when the precursor cells start to differentiate into osteoblasts, which are the cells which produce bone. The cells also seem to produce Type-1 collagen, osteocalcin, osteopontin and alkaline phosphatase. The inventor seems to have found that molecules or chemicals which have bone growth enhancing properties are made of this type of chemical structure…

“…Ar¹—L—Ar² wherein Ar¹ and Ar² are aromatic moieties and L is a linker that separates them by a specified distance.”

It seems however the real group of type of molecules the inventor wants to get a patent for are the “statins”. He states…

“Another class of compounds comprises inhibitors of β-hydroxy-β-methyl glutaric acid CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase. These compounds also enhance bone formation; they are generically known as “statins.” HMG-CoA reductase is the principal rate limiting enzyme involved in cellular cholesterol biosynthesis.”

There have been a few other patens which came out, specifically ones by Zymogenetics of Seattle who in the early 2000s were also developing bone growth pills and the primary compound they looked at was “statin”. What I didn’t know was that the statin was an entire group of chemical molecules. These go by the much longer term inhibitors of β-hydroxy-β-methyl glutaric acid CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase. He notes that in a few studies it was shown that lovastatin did seem to decrease osteoporosis but there was no study which showed that lovastatin directly increased bone formation. The invention would be in some type of liquid form which can be added into foods as a supplement to enhance bone growth.

Nutritional supplements for stimulating bone growth – US 6410521 B1

Gregory R. Mundy et al.

A food or food supplement which comprises a compound that enhances bone growth in vertebrates is described wherein the food or foodstuff is formulated so as to provide the desired bone growth enhancing effect.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to foodstuffs and nutritional supplements which contain active ingredients that stimulate bone growth in humans and other vertebrates. More specifically, the invention concerns methods to enhance bone growth by supplementing the diet of humans and domesticated animals with edible materials that contain statins or other bone growth enhancers and by formulating such enhancers in edible form.

BACKGROUND ART

Bone is subject to constant breakdown and resynthesis in a complex process mediated by osteoblasts, which produce new bone, and osteoclasts, which destroy bone. The activities of these cells are regulated by a large number of cytokines and growth factors, many of which have now been identified and cloned.

There is a plethora of conditions which are characterized by the need to enhance bone formation. Perhaps the most obvious is the case of bone fractures, where it would be desirable to stimulate bone growth and to hasten and complete bone repair. Agents that enhance bone formation would also be useful in facial reconstruction procedures. Other bone deficit conditions include bone segmental defects, periodontal disease, metastatic bone disease, osteolytic bone disease and conditions where connective tissue repair would be beneficial, such as healing or regeneration of cartilage defects or injury. Also of great significance is the chronic condition of osteoporosis, including age-related osteoporosis and osteoporosis associated with post-menopausal hormone status. Other conditions characterized by the need for bone growth include primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism, disuse osteoporosis, diabetes-related osteoporosis, and glucocorticoid-related osteoporosis.

One group of compounds suggested for enhancing bone formation comprises bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs). The BMPs are novel factors in the extended transforming growth factor β superfamily. Recombinant BMP-2 and BMP-4 can induce new bone formation when they are injected locally into the subcutaneous tissues of rats (Wozney J., Molec Reprod Dev (1992) 32:160-67). These factors are expressed by normal osteoblasts as they differentiate, and have been shown to stimulate osteoblast differentiation and bone nodule formation in vitro as well as bone formation in vivo (Harris S., et al., J. Bone Miner Res (1994) 9:855-63). This latter property suggests potential usefulness as therapeutic agents in diseases which result in bone loss.

The cells which are responsible for forming bone are osteoblasts. As osteoblasts differentiate from precursors to mature bone-forming cells, they express and secrete a number of enzymes and structural proteins of the bone matrix, including Type-1 collagen, osteocalcin, osteopontin and alkaline phosphatase (Stein G., et al., Curr Opin Cell Biol (1990) 2:1018-27; Harris S., et al. (1994), supra). They also synthesize a number of growth regulatory peptides which are stored in the bone matrix, and are presumably responsible for normal bone formation. These growth regulatory peptides include the BMPs (Harris S., et al. (1994), supra). In studies of primary cultures of fetal rat calvarial osteoblasts, BMPs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 are expressed by cultured cells prior to the formation of mineralized bone nodules (Harris S., et al. (1994), supra). Like alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin and osteopontin, the BMPs are expressed by cultured osteoblasts as they proliferate and differentiate.

Although the BMPs are potent stimulators of bone formation in vitro and in vivo, there are disadvantages to their use as therapeutic agents to enhance bone healing. Receptors for the bone morphogenetic proteins have been identified in many tissues, and the BMPs themselves are expressed in a large variety of tissues in specific temporal and spatial patterns. This suggests that BMPs may have effects on many tissues in addition to bone, potentially limiting their usefulness as therapeutic agents when administered systemically. Moreover, since they are peptides, they would have to be administered by injection. These disadvantages impose severe limitations to the development of BMPs as therapeutic agents.

Small molecules that are useful in treating bone disorders in vertebrates are of the general formula Ar¹—L—Ar² wherein Ar¹ and Ar² are aromatic moieties and L is a linker that separates them by a specified distance. These are disclosed in PCT application WO98/17267 published Apr. 30, 1998. These compounds were assessed for usefulness in treating bone disorders by their ability to enhance the production of a reporter protein when the nucleotide sequence encoding the reporter protein is operably linked to the promoter for BMP-2. Similar compounds are disclosed for this purpose in earlier filed PCT applications WO97/15308 published May 1, 1997 and WO97/48694 published Dec. 24, 1997.

Another class of compounds comprises inhibitors of β-hydroxy-β-methyl glutaric acid CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase. These compounds also enhance bone formation; they are generically known as “statins.” HMG-CoA reductase is the principal rate limiting enzyme involved in cellular cholesterol biosynthesis. The pathway is also responsible for the production of dolichol, ubiquinones, isopentenyl adenine and farnesol. HMG-CoA reductase converts 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl CoA (HMG-CoA) to mevalonate. Addition of mevalonate at concentrations between 25-800 μM inhibits the activity of mevastatin (100, 25, or 6.25 μM) in the ABA assay described in Example 1 herein. Mevalonic acid has no effect on primary screen activities of bone growth-active compounds outside of the statin family (compounds 59-0008 (see Example 1)). These data indicate that the effect of mevastatin in the ABA assay is mediated by its effect on HMG-CoA reductase. Knowledge of inhibitors of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway (including SAR or pharmacophore analyses) may be useful in determining appropriate modifications or analogs of the statins that maintain bone growth activity.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,040 discloses compounds described as useful in the treatment of osteoporosis. These compounds putatively achieve this result by preventing bone resorption. Related to these compounds are the bisphosphonates—the methylene bisphosphonic acids. These compounds are comprised of two phosphonic acid residues coupled through a methylene linkage. Typical representatives include the clodronates which are simple compounds wherein the phosphonic acid residues are coupled through dichloromethylene. Other representative bisphosphonates include ibandronates, the risedronates, alandronates and pamidronates. These compounds have been shown to inhibit the resorption of bone, presumably by effecting apoptosis of osteoclasts. Luckman, S. P., et al., J Bone Min Res (1998) 13:581-589.

Wang, G.-J., et al., J Formos Med Assoc (1995) 94:589-592 report that certain lipid clearing agents, exemplified by lovastatin and bezafibrate, were able to inhibit the bone resorption resulting from steroid administration in rabbits. However, there is no suggestion in Wang, et al., that lovastatin directly enhances bone formation. An abstract entitled “Lovastatin Prevents Steroid-Induced Adipogenesis and Osteoporosis” by Cui, Q., et al., appeared in the Reports of the ASBMR 18th Annual Meeting (September 1996) J. Bone Mineral Res. (1996) 11(S1):S510. The abstract reports that lovastatin diminished triglyceride vesicles that accumulated when osteoprogenitor cells cloned from bone marrow stroma of chickens were treated in culture with dexamethasone. Lovastatin was reported to diminish the expression of certain mRNAs and to allow the cells to maintain the osteogenic phenotype after dexamethasone treatment. Further, chickens that had undergone bone loss in the femoral head as a result of dexamethasone treatment were improved by treatment with lovastatin. Again, there is no suggestion that lovastatin directly enhances bone formation in the absence of steroid treatment. In addition, PCT publication WO99/45923 describes methods of inhibiting bone resorption by administering an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor. Again, there is no suggestion that statins or other HMG reductase inhibitors enhance the formation of bone.

The distinction between enhancing bone formation and inhibiting resorption is further elucidated by Ducy, P., et al., Nature(1996) 382:448-52 who have recently reported that osteocalcin deficient mice exhibit a phenotype marked by increased bone formation and bones of improved functional quality, without impairment of bone resorption. Ducy, et al., state that their data suggest that osteocalcin antagonists may be of therapeutic use in conjunction with estrogen replacement therapy (for prevention or treatment of osteoporosis).

The present invention describes means for administering statins and other classes of compounds that enhance bone formation by including them in nutritional supplements, or by administering edible materials that naturally contain these compounds. In addition, the invention is directed to an optimum protocol for administering compounds that enhance bone formation.

What is claimed is:

9. The method of claim 3, wherein said administering is on an intermittent protocol wherein the time period occupied by dosage administration is less than 50% of the time frame over which treatment is administered, as measured by the time between initial administration and assessment of results.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the invention is directed to a method to enhance bone growth in humans or other vertebrate animals by including in their diets foodstuffs or food supplements that contain effective amounts of bone growth enhancing compounds. These compounds can be the small molecule bone enhancing compounds of the formula Ar¹—L—Ar²described hereinabove, bisphosphonates, or other bone growth enhancing agents such as BMPs. A particularly preferred group of compounds which can be administered in this was comprises the statins. Typical statins are of the formula:

 

wherein X in each of formulas (1), (2) and (3) represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkylene, alkenylene, or alkynylene linker of 2-6C optionally containing one heteroatom which is O, N or S;

Y represents one or more carbocyclic or heterocyclic rings; when two or more rings are present in Y, they may optionally be fused; and

R′ represents a cation, H or a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group of 1-6C.

Thus, the invention is directed to methods to treat bone disorders by directly stimulating bone formation stimulating bone formation by including in the diet of a subject in need of such stimulation, a food or food supplement which contains a bone enhancing compound, especially a statin compound. Oral administration of the compounds of the invention, in particular the statins, enhances plasma concentration by avoiding hepatic first pass effects. Thus, their effects on bone and non-hepatic tissues are enhanced. In another aspect, the invention relates to administering the compounds that stimulate bone growth on an intermittent schedule in contrast to continuous administration.

 

What I have found recently is a patent which shows how we even as amateur experimentalist can probably get the raw materials needed to do this experiment to show that using bFGF and Hyaluronic Acid can get bones to growth, at least in terms of thickness.

The patent is rather long so I will not be attempting to copy and paste on this post everything that was written in the patent. I only copied the abstract, patent description, and the claims made by the inventor.

Analysis & Interpretation

From a first glance it looks like the patent for the invention involves a two part composition mixture that is supposed to be applied to the area of bone one would like to thicken. The composition that is formed from getting the hyaluronic acid and basic FGF growth factor would have the viscosity level and and biodegradability level to stay in the area of bone long enough to have some type of osteogenic effect.

For the actual growth factor, there might be more than just FGF involved, but also the TGF-Betas 1-3, IGF-1, PDGF, EGF and other elements in the TGF-Beta superfamily. The inventor is better at describing the invention with….

“A method of treating diseased, injured or abnormal bone at an orthotopic or intraosseous site of desired bone growth…”

To get into specifics, if we are choosing the basic version of the FGF growth factor, we would use concentrations at 10.sup.-6 to 100 mg/ml and the Hyaluronic Acid would need to be around 0.1-4.0% by weight percentage.

Implications For Height Increase

This type of invention is interesting to  consider since it might be the type of method or technique which for the height increase seeker means that they might be able to take a type of syringe and inject the bone growth material on the edges of long bones to stimulate layer upon layers of appositional bone growth. The process of using this idea for height gain will be very slow.

However this type of patent is useful to note for later research if the case where we need to form bone growth quickly can be done using this mixture of growth factor and hyaluronic acid.

Method of promoting bone growth with hyaluronic acid and growth factors

Michael Radomsky

A bone growth-promoting composition is provided comprising hyaluronic acid and a growth factor. The composition has a viscosity and biodegradability sufficient to persist at the site of desired bone growth for a period of time sufficient to promote the bone growth. Preferably hyaluronic acid is used in a composition range of 0.1-4% by weight and preferred growth factor is bFGF, present in a concentration range of about 10.sup.-6 to 100 mg/ml.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a bone growth-promoting composition comprising hyaluronic acid and a growth factor such that the composition has a viscosity and biodegradability sufficient to persist at the site of desired bone growth for a period of time sufficient to promote bone growth.

Compositions comprising hyaluronic acid and a growth factor are provided which have the requisite viscosity and biodegradability.

As used herein, the term hyaluronic acid, abbreviated as HA, means hyaluronic acid and its salts such as the sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and the like, salts.

By growth factors, it is meant those factors, proteinaceous or otherwise, which are found to play a role in the induction or conduction of growth of bone, ligaments, cartilage or other tissues associated with bone or joints.

In particular these growth factors include bFGF, aFGF, EGF (epidermal growth factor), PDGF (platelet-derived growth factor), IGF (insulin-like growth factor), TGF-β I through III, including the TGF-β superfamily (BMP-1 through 12, GDF 1 through 12, dpp, 60A, BIP, OF).

What is claimed is:

This device which I found from the BIOMET company’s website is another device that has bone regeneration and bone growth abilities.

EBI Bone Healing System^®

Clinically Effective

• The most studied non-invasive bone growth stimulation device on the market¹
• Heal rates as high as 92%²
• 2 ½ months earlier healing³
• 75% of Biomet customers are repeat prescribers⁴

Scientifically Proven

• Pre-clinical studies state PEMF has a reproducible osteogenic effect in vitro and simultaneously induces naturally occuring BMP-2 and BMP-4⁵
• In vivo and in vitro pre-clinical studies demonstrated PEMF exposure more than doubled the rate of angiogenesis⁶

Cost Efficient

• According to a published, peer-reviewed study, electrical stimulation was shown to be more cost efficient when compared to no stimulation or LIPUS for the treatment of nonunions⁷

Analysis & Interpretation:

What a person needs to understand is that if one really thinks that all it takes to lengthen bone is to have a non-invasive bone growth stimulation device, this would be it. The device seems to be something a patient with a broken leg aka fracture on their long bones would wear like a brace. The way the electrical field would be generated and interact with the broken bone would result in accelerated bone healing time.

If a person thinks they just need a bone growth stimulation device, they can try this and put it on their leg and wear it for a few months and check to see whether the one leg they have been wearing it on increased slightly more in length compared to the contralateral leg used as control.

For more information or to see the scientific studies and articles written about the idea that PEMF technology does indeed work, I copy and pasted all of the studies that was referenced below for any researcher’s convenience.

1. Data on file at Biomet Spine & Bone Healing Technologies, most published studies as of 9/7/2012

2. Frykman, G.K., Taleisnik, J., Peters, G., Kaufman, R., Helal, B., Wood, V.E., and Unsell, R.S. Treatment of nonunited scaphoid fractures by pulsed electromagnetic field and cast. J Hand Surg Am, 1986. 11(3): p. 344-9.*

3. Murray, H and Pethica, B. Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy and Fracture Management: An Analysis of the Time to Heal Data. 2012. Data on file at Biomet Spine and Bone Healing Technologies. Disclaimer: Funding for this study was provided by EBI, LLC, d/b/a Biomet Spine and Bone Healing Technologies

4. Data on file at Biomet Spine & Bone Healing Technologies

5. Bodamyali T, Bhatt B, Hughes FJ,Winrow VR, Kanczler JM, Simon B, Abbott J, Blake DR and Stevens CR. Pulsing electromagnetic fields simultaneously induce osteogenesis and upregulate transcription of bonemorphogenetic proteins 2 and 4 in rat osteoblasts in vitro. BiochemBiophys Res Commun 250:458-461, 1998. Disclaimer: Following non invasive electrical stimulation, increases in multiple growth factors have been observed in various pre-clinical in vitro cellular and in vivo animal studies. Although not indicative of human clinical results, these factors have been implicated in various models of bone repair.*

6. Tepper OM, Chang EI, Baharestani S, Galiano RD, Bhatt KA, Hopper RA, Heitman DE, Simon BJ, Gan JC, Levine JP and Gurtner GC. Electromagnetic fields increase in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis through a FGF-mediated VEGF independent mechanism. Submitted to FASEB. Disclaimer: Following non invasive electrical stimulation, increases in multiple growth factors have been observed in various pre-clinical in vitro cellular and in vivo animal studies. Although not indicative of human clinical results, these factors have been implicated in various models of bone repair.*

7. Burden of Illness among Patients Experiencing Bone Fracture Nonunion report, Prepared by Ning Wu, PhD, Yuan-Chi Daisy Lee, MS, Alan Wang, BS, Luke Boulanger, MA, MBA, United BioSource Corporation Copy on file at BS&BHT. Disclaimer: Funding for this study was provided by EBI, LLC, d/b/a Biomet Spine and Bone Healing Technologies

One compound that I had read about from the very beginning of the research for the website was the fact that there was a type of acid known as retinoic acid which might have certain properties and functions which involved limb regeneration in amphibians, fish, and reptiles. I wanted to go back to look slightly deeper on the function of retinoic acid to see whether it had any potential to be a chondrogenic stimulant and could induce something similar to what we see in deer antler regeneration and the antler longitudinal growth. My hope is to find studies which suggest that the retinoic acid can stimulate chondrocyte proliferation and/or chondrocyte hypertrophy.

These are the PubMed studies I have found which shows the connection between the function of retinoic acid and chondrogenesis.

Study #1: Retinoic acid is a potent regulator of growth plate chondrogenesis.

• Endocrinology. 2000 Jan;141(1):346-53.
• De Luca F, Uyeda JA, Mericq V, Mancilla EE, Yanovski JA, Barnes KM, Zile MH, Baron J.
• Source: Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
• fdeluca@peds.umaryland.edu
• PMID: 10614657

Abstract

Vitamin A deficiency and excess both cause abnormalities in mammalian longitudinal bone growth. Because all-trans retinoic acid (RA) is synthesized from vitamin A, we hypothesized that RA regulates growth plate chondrogenesis. Consistent with this hypothesis, a single oral dose of RA reduced the height of the rat proximal tibial growth plate. To determine whether RA acts directly on growth plate, fetal rat metatarsal bones were cultured in the presence of RA. In this system, RA inhibited longitudinal bone growth by three mechanisms: 1) decreased chondrocyte proliferation, (assessed by 3H-thymidine incorporation), particularly in the proliferative zone of the growth plate; 2) decreased matrix synthesis (assessed by 35SO4 incorporation into glycosaminoglycans); and 3) decreased cell hypertrophy (determined histologically). The growth-inhibiting effects of RA were completely reversed by a retinoic acid receptor (RAR) antagonist. In the absence of exogenous RA, this antagonist accelerated bone growth, as did an RA-specific neutralizing antibody, suggesting that endogenous RA negatively regulates growth plate chondrogenesis. We conclude that RA, acting through RARs, negatively regulates longitudinal bone growth by inhibiting growth plate chondrocyte proliferation, chondrocyte hypertrophy, and matrix synthesis.

Study #2: Retinoic acid induces rapid mineralization and expression of mineralization-related genes in chondrocytes.

• Exp Cell Res. 1993 Aug;207(2):413-20.
• Iwamoto M, Shapiro IM, Yagami K, Boskey AL, Leboy PS, Adams SL, Pacifici M.
• Source
• Department of Anatomy-Histology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104-6003.
• PMID: 8344389