(Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1)
IGF-1 Introduction, History, and Overview
IGF-1, also known as Somatomedin C, has quickly become a very popular and widely talked about compound from the mid-2000s to the present day in 2017.
In the early 1990s, then-Olympian Dorian Yates was rumored to have first officially used IGF-1 as a performance-enhancing drug, and while it was considered a very rare and expensive drug at the time, it quickly spread among other professional bodybuilders.
IGF-1 is not an anabolic steroid, but rather a protein hormone (also known as a polypeptide or simply a peptide hormone) that is very similar in structure to another peptide/protein hormone, insulin.
IGF-1 is endogenously, naturally manufactured and synthesized in the human body, primarily by the liver.
The production of IGF-1 in the liver is stimulated and triggered by human growth hormone (HGH).
In essence, HGH is a prohormone of IGF-1, and many of the anabolic effects of HGH are actually the result of downstream production of IGF-1.
IGF-1 is very similar to insulin (hence the name insulin-like growth factor 1), but its role is slightly different.
Like insulin, IGF-1 is a nutrient shuttle hormone, which means it promotes the transportation of nutrients like amino acids and glucose into muscle cells.
The cells themselves can then utilize these nutrients to synthesize new muscle tissue. IGF-1 also plays an anabolic role in bone, connective tissue, and intestinal tissue.
It differs from insulin, which is a nutrient-transporting hormone in the broadest sense, in that insulin transports nutrients to many other tissues throughout the body, not just muscle tissue.
In other words, insulin is not as selective a shuttle hormone as IGF-1.
IGF-1 also has a very unique and very specific role in the human body, and that role changes depending on the stage of human development.
For example, in childhood, it is responsible for a variety of important factors involved in growth, while in adulthood, it expresses anabolic activity.
Medically, it is primarily used to treat growth failure, but because IGF-1 is a relatively recent discovery in medicine, its experimental use for the treatment of other conditions continues to expand.
Medical use and clinical research is expanding into conditions such as dwarfism, aging, neuropathy, cancer, and even stroke.
In recent years, a number of IGF-1 variants have been developed and used for exogenous administration in the body: IGF-1, IGF-1 LR3, and IGF-1 DES, all of which have different half-lives and uses.
This can be confusing for potential first-time users, especially since there is a lot of confusing information circulating on the internet, but we will discuss this in more detail later in this article.
Chemical Properties and Characteristics of IGF-1
IGF-1 is a polypeptide hormone, consisting of a chain of 70 amino acids in length.
In comparison, insulin is 51 amino acids long.
As mentioned earlier, insulin is a nutrient transport hormone that is very specific to muscle tissue and is highly anabolic.
It also has anabolic effects on bone and connective tissue, as well as intestinal tissue.
The problem is that, as mentioned earlier, natural and endogenous IGF-1 production is stimulated by HGH, so HGH is essentially a release factor for IGF-1, and therefore the effectiveness of increasing HGH doses is limited by how much IGF-1 the liver can produce at any one time.
This is where the advantage of using exogenous IGF-1 comes into play.
IGF-1 is not only a nutrient-transporting hormone, but it is also responsible for promoting muscle cell proliferation (the growth and development of new muscle cells) as opposed to muscle cell hypertrophy (an increase in the size of existing muscle cells).
However, there are some important differences to understand regarding the activity of IGF-1.
The first is that 99% of IGF-1 circulating in the bloodstream is bound to specific binding proteins, and studies have shown that free (or unbound) IGF-1 is responsible for muscle cell proliferation (multiplication).
As a result, pharmaceutical researchers have found various ways to modify the structure of IGF-1 to bypass or avoid this problem of the IGF-1 molecule binding to the binding protein.
This, of course, has resulted in the development and use of many different variants of IGF-1.
The second difference worth mentioning is that regardless of the variant or type, IGF-1 always acts systemically in the body.
This means that once administered, it circulates throughout the body and acts on all muscle tissue, and does not contribute to localized muscle growth in the area where it was initially administered.
Variants of IGF-1 (IGF-1 LR3, IGF-1 DES)
As mentioned above, IGF-1 comes in two main forms/variants.
Regardless of the variant, it is important to remember that they both act systemically in the body and that even if you administer the hormone directly intramuscularly to a specific muscle, it will not produce measurable localized growth that would make it worthwhile to administer it in that manner.
IGF-1 LR3
This is the most common and popular variant of IGF-1 on the market and is currently used by bodybuilders and athletes, which is why we've listed it first.
This product contains bio-identical IGF-1, which originally consisted of a 70 amino acid chain, but with an additional 13 amino acids added to the N-terminus for a total of 83 amino acids.
There is also a second variant that has an arginine in the third position instead of the original glutamic acid.
As a result of these modifications, IGF-1 still exhibits its original activity at the IGF-1 receptors in body tissues and has a very low binding affinity for the aforementioned IGF binding proteins.
It also exhibits a significantly extended half-life of about 20-30 hours, as opposed to the 12-15 hour half-life of IGF-1.
Taking all of these factors together, the potency of LR3 has been proven to be approximately three times that of IGF-1.
IGF-1 DES
Also known as DES(1-3)IGF-1, it is commonly known as a very fast-acting form of IGF-1 and is generally the less favored of the two.
It is modified from the original IGF-1 molecule, missing the first three amino acids at the N-terminus, so IGF-1 DES contains a total of 67 amino acids in the chain compared to the original 70.
These modifications resulted in IGF-1 DES having a reduced binding affinity for the aforementioned IGF binding proteins, while increasing its strength and potency to approximately 10 times that of the original IGF-1 and 5 times that of IGF-1 LR3.
Unlike IGF-1 LR3, IGF-1 DES has a much shorter half-life of approximately 20-30 minutes.
Due to its faster activity and greater strength/efficacy, the DES variant of IGF-1 is commonly believed to achieve localized muscle growth at the site of injection.
While this is true to some extent, studies have shown that it acts systemically once it reaches the capillaries and bloodstream, just like IGF-1 in general.
IGF-1 Side Effects
IGF-1's side effect profile and tolerance by most users is generally well understood based on research, medical literature, and feedback from bodybuilders and athletes who have used it.
However, like everything else, IGF-1 is not without potential risks and side effects.
Most IGF-1 side effects are more in the form of long-term side effects and risks, which typically come from prolonged use (and of course dosage).
As mentioned throughout this article, IGF-1 is a nutrient transport/splitting hormone, so it can have a short-term side effect of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
Because IGF-1 increases glucose uptake into muscle cells (and other cell types) at a rapid rate, there is a risk that the level of glucose in circulating plasma will drop rapidly.
This happens at a much lower rate than with insulin, but there are still potential risks and side effects.
If you have diabetes or are prone to diabetes and want to use IGF-1, you should be aware of this IGF-1 side effect.
People who plan to use IGF-1, whether they have diabetes or not, should monitor their blood sugar levels and signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia and adjust their diet accordingly.
Because IGF-1 is a growth factor and growth hormone in its own right, it can promote tumor and cancer growth in people who have already been diagnosed with an active tumor or cancer or have a history of cancer.
It's important to understand here that IGF-1 does not cause cancer.
It is a very important hormone that plays an important role in the proper functioning of the heart, nervous system, and brain, among many other functions.
That's why people with a history of cancer or who have been diagnosed with active cancer should be careful.
Acromegaly and growth of internal organs and intestinal tissue are also commonly discussed IGF-1 side effects.
This usually occurs when overuse is used for a long period of time or when unnecessarily high doses are taken.
Acromegaly is the excessive growth of bone tissue, usually noticeable in the jaw and extremities such as the feet and hands.
This requires prolonged, uninterrupted use and high doses. It is not recommended to use an IGF-1 cycle (especially IGF-1 LR3) for more than 30 days at a time without taking a significant break.
With longer hormone administration times or higher doses, the IGF-1 receptor sites in muscle tissue become saturated and the excess IGF-1 that remains in the bloodstream will bind to other tissues (bone, internal organs, and intestinal tissue) and promote tissue growth in those tissues.
Over time, you can see why and how this can become problematic (and often irreversible) with high doses and prolonged use.
Dosage, Administration, and Usage of IGF-1
The dosage of IGF-1 LR3 is as follows: Men should use about 40 to 50 mcg per day and women should use no more than 20 mcg per day.
Due to its long active half-life in the body, the LR3 variant should only be administered once per day and not more than twice.
On training/exercise days, IGF-1 should be administered either immediately before or immediately after exercise.
It doesn't matter if you take it before or after your workout, so you can choose when to take it based on your preference (you can take it only before or only after your workout).
If you're taking it twice a day, you can split your total daily dose in half (e.g., 20 mcg pre-workout, 20 mcg post-workout, for a total of 40 mcg per day).
On non-training days, it can be taken at any time of the day.
Dosages for IGF-1 DES are as follows Compared to LR3, the dosages of the DES variants vary a bit more.
For IGF-1 DES, doses range from 50 to 150 mcg per day or more.
Because it has a much shorter half-life than the LR3 variant, higher doses can be used, and while the risk of long-term effects on the body is not as great, caution should still be exercised.
IGF-1 can be used before and after a workout in the same way as LR3, and is actually commonly used in this way due to its shorter half-life.
Both forms of IGF-1 can be administered intramuscularly or subcutaneously.
Both forms should not exceed a total of 30 days of cycles and should be followed by at least two weeks of rest, but it is recommended to take a long break of at least two weeks between IGF-1 cycles.
This is not only due to the risk of long-term health effects, but also to allow the IGF-1 receptors to return to proper working order after the cycle ends.
Both variants of IGF-1 are packaged in lyophilized powder form (dehydrated/dried powder), which must be reconstituted by diluting the powder with bacteriostatic water or, in the case of LR3 in general, a small amount of acetic acid in bacteriostatic water.
It is the user's responsibility to calculate how much water should be added to properly reconstitute the lyophilized powder to the desired concentration.
Most IGF-1 preparations (both LR3 and DES variants) typically come standard with a total of 1 mg of lyophilized powder.
For example, if 2 ml of bacteriostatic water is added to the powder, the user will receive 50 mcg per 10iu (or 0.10 ml) of water.
Concentrations can and will vary depending on the product purchased and how the user reconstitutes the product with the desired amount of water.
It is imperative that anyone wishing to use any form of IGF-1 understand the proper basic math calculations before reconstituting.
IGF-1 Legality
The laws and legality surrounding IGF-1 around the world can vary widely, and it is the responsibility of each individual to research and familiarize themselves with the laws of the country, state, and/or province in which they reside.
Laws and regulations vary greatly from country to country, so it's important to know your laws and rights as an individual.
Ignorance is not an excuse for breaking the law.
Most Western countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, do not criminalize the use or possession of IGF-1.
In these countries, IGF-1 is not a controlled substance, but has the status of a prescription-only drug (for the very few IGF-1 preparations that are considered drugs for human use) and cannot be purchased over-the-counter as an over-the-counter drug or dietary supplement.
Buy IGF-1
While both variants of IGF-1 (LR3 and DES) are very widely available, there are few to no human formulations available as medicines.
This is because IGF-1 is an experimental drug that is still in clinical trials and is not yet considered an official medicine for the treatment of any disease.
It is currently being used clinically as an experimental compound, and this may change in the future.
For now, IGF-1 is available in the form of research peptides sold by various research chemical manufacturing companies.
These products can be purchased legally from a number of research companies and/or websites.
These products are for research and laboratory use only and are not intended for human use or ingestion unless utilized in research and clinical settings approved and licensed by the FDA and medical institutions/organizations.
These products are neither drugs nor medical products, and are not intended for human use; therefore, manufacturing standards and quality control are accordingly.
