Monthly Archives: September 2012

Your Growth Plate X-Rays Don’t Tell The Entire Story, Why Your Doctor Can Be Wrong And You Might Still Be Growing :)

This post is a repost of a very important point. I have stated this point before in a very old post which I can’t find right now but the point is that the actual maximum age for height increase the natural way is actually around 20 years old for men, and 18 years old for females, plus or minus 1 year.

Here is the facts which most doctors don’t tell you. It could be they don’t consider it, or they forgot in their own medical training. Doctors are known to make mistakes, and get things wrong.

When you are concerned about your height and growth rate, you might decide to go to your family doctor, the one you have been going to since you were a toddler, to ask for that X-ray. Now, if I remember correctly the cost for an X-ray is not that expensive, maybe $100-200 to get the pics developed. Then you wait and the doctor takes a look at your X-Rays and sometimes says that your growth plates are closed. You have stopped growing. You feel a little bit of disappointment that you are going to stay “short” for the rest of your life.

Well, they can be wrong, because the X-Rays some doctors decide to take is only for 1 or 2 specific areas. For most doctors they ask for an X-ray of the wrists and maybe the knee area. They are checking your limbs to look for the growth plates. However, I would guess most ordinary family doctors who specialized in internal medicine or pediatrics will not be as thorough as say an endocrinologist or orthopedic specialist. They forget that in terms of the human growth process, the vertebrate in the torso actually don’t stop growing for an additional 2 years. So after the growth plates in your limbs like arms and legs are done, there is still hope in the vertebrate bones.

This is a HUGE problem with kids who suffer from scoliosis since it has been shown in many cases that almost all the growth in torso height comes from the increase in size of the vertebrate bone, not the intervertebral disks. This means that if you put a kid in one of those braces, which causes them to be held in one place, any growth will only bend the kids back more and this creates an even worse spinal deformity.

This subject was brought up in this paper written in 1992, found HERE, entitled “Growth beyond skeletal maturity.” The abstract is below.

Serial measurements of standing and sitting height of children show that growth continues beyond the age of skeletal maturity when judged by the fusion of the epiphyses of the hand and wrist. Most of this increase occurs in the sitting height, largely reflecting spinal growth, and may account for the known progression potential of idiopathic scoliosis beyond the attainment of skeletal maturity.

here is another article that states the same thing, that you don’t stop growing until your vertebrate has stopped growing, which the Risser Method can not detect, entitled “The pathogenesis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, A systematic review of the literature”.

Contrary to the findings of Risser and Ferguson, complete ossification of the iliac apophysis did not always correlate with the cessation of vertebral growth. Several authors reported progression of scoliotic curves after skeletal maturity, diagnosed by Risser’s method.”

and also on this website for scoliosis HERE by a very angry and concerned parent. He/She says…

“”My daughter’s orthopedic surgeon stated that it had been proven that kids whose curves progressed after reaching skeletal maturity were not done with their growth.

Here are a couple of research items showing that growth can continue beyond skeletal maturity when judged by both Risser and by fusion of the epiphyses of the hand and wrist. 

These are both based on older observations, so I wonder why many orthopedic surgeons don’t take this into account when determining the time to stop bracing? Is this just relying on odds, and it’s just unfortunate for those kids who don’t follow the average growth patterns? Shouldn’t they be relying on cessation of vertical growth also? 

Spinekids has numerous kids this has happened to. Perhaps the doctors could show their patients sideshift exercises during weaning of the brace to help minimize any further progression if they feel the kid can’t take bracing any more.””

Again, men will not stop growing because of their vertebrate growth plates until they are usually around 20, give or take a couple of years. For girls, that age range is around 18, plus and minus a couple of years. I know I didn’t stop increasing in height until I was around 20 or 21. So, maybe this is some good news for you kids out there who are still in their late teens and early 20s. You still got a chance so live a healthier lifestyle and get some exercise.

{Tyler-I just discovered the paper.  The paper is not as ground breaking as alluded to by it’s title but merely suggests that growth in the spine occurs 2 years after growth of the limbs ceases}

Another Height Increase Qigong Technique That Works, Maybe

Me: I was going through the Giant Scientific Boards yesterday and I stumbled upon another method that seems to be based on the idea of using Qigong. Now, if you are a regular reader you would remember that I talked quite extensively about the possibility of using Qigong to increase height and grow taller mainly because there was this Chinese female named Zixia or Nicole who claimed that she was able to grow 4 inches from 5 feet to 5 feet 4 inches by doing Qigong for 2 years, getting the first 3 inches in extra height the first year of practicing her qigong routine. Now, this type of claim and idea is something that is very alien to me since I never could even guess it was even possibility. If you want to find the old posts that talks about her ideas, you can either look through my complete posts lists or go to her blog website HERE which can be found in the resource section. 

As for this new recent development, the technique is similar to Zixia’s stuff and mentions her blog as a form of influence. There is not doubt that there have been many people who have found her old blog posts. Some of her posts have almost 100 comments so a lot of people have read about her story and her ideas. There have even been a few people who have been so inspired by her story to start blogs of their own to try to document their own journey in trying to increase their height. As for the discussion and qigong method describe below, it was obtained from the Giant Scientific boards HERE. Maybe you can get more out of it than me right now. Right now I am just trying to focus my energy in reading and researching the science part. I don’t have time at this point to do a really deep in depth analysis on the technique. 

fivemore
Rookie Height SeekerJoined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 32
PostPosted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:59 pm    Post subject: Mind over matter

Hey all,I used to go by the name of “urban_model” but for some reason couldn’t log-on so I created a new account. Anyhow, I’ve studied meditation and Qigong and decided that’s the route I’m going. I believe I can grow as many inches as I want with Qigong and for those interested, I want to point out a few things that will help you overcome blockages:1. The human attention span for adults is only 7 seconds and even less in most, in order to take advantage of qigong benefits you have to improve your concentration/attention span. You can do so with Qigong. But fullfilling this first step is important, if not you will have a difficult time.2. There is a left and right side of brain. Left is logic, right is creativity. Some people use more of one side than the other. It is natural to keep a balance of the two to use the two daily. I.e, if you’re in a classroom that requires you to use logic/left brain, you’ll normally drift away in wonderland (mind-wandering) with the use of right brain imagining all sorts of things. If you’re required to concentrate on something such as hypnosis, qigong, or anything that asks of you to imagine, you’ll drift away into the left brain (logic brain), and think about real life events such as hanging out at the bar with friends the other night. It’s rare that when asked to imagine one thing such as a purple dog, to mind wander and think about a blue cow. The two sides are always intertwined. The key here is to only tap into the right brain (creativity side) when performing Qigong, and leave the left/logic side alone. Because logic does not always mean it’s true. Remember, not too long ago we thought the earth was flat.

3. Removing doubts: Believe it or not, whether you say you fully believe in Qigong and its powers, at the beginning, there is always some slight doubt. Anyone who says they have always truly believed in something 100% are fooling themselves. It is natural to doubt everything and question things before you can truly put your faith into something. This can of course be removed but first you must tune into yourself. This comes with practice.

4. You have to be in the right mood and right state of mind for this. I recommend that you practice Qigong (or meditation if that works better) 30 min in the morning, and 30 min at night. Make sure you don’t go to bed late and tired for practice because it will have a negative impact on how well you will concentrate and chances are you might doze off.

5. Listen to some meditation music while doing this. It helps with imagination and visualization 100% more than it would if you were to lay in bed silently and it helps you tap into your right side of the brain more. Youtube “meditation.

6. This part is important. You MUST study Qigong OR meditation as much as possible on your own spare time. Read about it, study it, get familiar. Don’t just read someone elses success story and duplicate their routine. It won’t always work since everyone is different. And find a way that makes your mind connect with your body. Just like the lady from easyheight.com mentioned, do whatever becomes believable to you. If Qigong doesn’t work for you because the whole “energy light ball” is too overwhelming, then try meditation and regular visualization of your body being taller. But don’t give up, and don’t stick to something that you don’t feel is working.

To add some science to this to make some understand the make up of everything in the universe (short explanation). Everything is made out of atoms. The smallest unit that makes up the entire universe is called an atom. Atoms create molecules, and molecules create elements, everything that you can see, touch an feel today. But the atom in itself is 99% empty space, which means everything that you can see, touch, and feel today is 99% nothing (or energy as some call it but you can’t measure it), the only reason why things can take such shape (all that you can see now) is because the electrons that circle around the nucleon create a electronic barrier that, when touched with other things it creates resistance. In other words, you’ve never really touched anything. It is hard to explain without visual examples. For example, the reason why you can touch things and not just “touch through” them since it’s mostly 99% nothing is because when two forms such as a hand and a ball touching, the atom electrons shield prevent your hand from emerging with the ball. Whenever you touch something, there’s actually a bit of gap between your hand and that item, the electrons prevent you from ever fully 100% get close to another item. So if this 99% of everything is empty and only 1% is something, that tells you a lot. Hypnosis is real, and qigong is real in a sense that you can use your mind to manipulate anything and everything. They have a great show on national geographic called “known universe”, that discusses this in great detail, it’s really worth a watch!

The chinese must have known about this long before scientists ever knew, because with almost every practice they have, involves the flow of energy, in which the whole world is made out of, everything is in fact energy.

I am going to leave this forum for a while to fulfill my goals and am going to give this 2 years to try. The first 6 months will be dedicated to practicing Qigong and to study it, the next 6 months will be to condition my mind and body through daily practice and the last year will be to grow 4 inches. I’m pretty sure it can be done much sooner, and possibly take longer. I only give it 2 years to make sure I won’t give up before then. But there have been reports of people growing this much within a year and less. Then when I’ve achieved my goal I will try to come back and report. I know it will be long from now but, I’ve noticed the more time I spend on the forums the less I actually do anything about my height.

Meditation and Qigong is real, it just takes time, patient, and effort and it is certainly not an overnight thing. I’ve practiced about 3 times now, and it is not easy but each time gets easier. What I noticed today (which inspired me to write this post) was the sensations I felt in my legs. My feet had needles (you know when you sit on your leg for too long) and my legs would have very tingly sensations that would last for 1 second at a time. They are not very comfortable. It feels like your muscles are being tickled from the inside. Then when I got up to measure myself knowing that I hadn’t grown but just for fun, I noticed that I was half a centimeter taller. This new height is taller than my morning height and I’ve never had this height throughout my whole life. The gains were not permanent as I did not focus on lengthening my bones/legs but rather the joints in my spine (an experiment I did with the guys youtube video which I’m about to show you).

Here’s the link to the video of the guy showing how Qigong can work for height increase: Note that a lot of the user comments on this youtube video are also true testimonials from people who grew using his technique, but again, i recommend that you follow Zixia’s method as she focuses on bones.

Meditationyoga:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lo3JHWkZuE

and here’s zixia’s link:
http://zixialinmm.blogspot.com/

fivemore
Rookie Height SeekerJoined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 32
PostPosted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 3:17 pm    Post subject:

Here is some good meditation music for those who have trouble finding them on youtube, the ones on top are the ones I listen to the most, but they are all very relaxing.If you’re interested in downloading youtube songs go to this link:
1. http://www.videocodezone.com/youtubevideo1.php
2. Click on “video download”, the tab on top
3. Paste the youtube link
4. Choose audio format and downloadZen garden: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR3dM-GlZK8
Heart or Reiki: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWvS9llbSJ0
Embrace the moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEwFwfWFnEAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hp1SpEKv3c&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEulyxBCA6c&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQkcVcKJ7Es&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmczPdqSz0M&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnREtYxCY-I&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSFKGAQpmi8&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqzDyxVb0yc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJCwOoCOCVY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gpjJUbPfzY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1UEXBXNyyQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeYTBvanFmE&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycLpVwGlN00&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbNDmKFzzG8&feature=related





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFaxMdNfILE&feature=related –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIgVi4Kbh1k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmA-dWdaI5k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMxKffswZ1Q&feature=related –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjo7-w7kDnI&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJqhh5t-1gM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgG4vDfcJek&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMDVvcMaRE0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRryHfBgoKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ28Ic9rOXE



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFr48tLthUo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHi1Y4qsor0&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94HYEe1bOFU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzMGzBKRttU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1zFf4RYbZQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYs5zyM9zk8 havasupai –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SljA0xZAYD0 igor krutoi –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJDvrQkSUfI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-4J5j74VPw&feature=related
airozhal
Rookie Height SeekerJoined: 07 Dec 2008
Posts: 24
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:09 pm    Post subject:

awesome… i was trying to find good meditiation stuff. Good luck with your gains!
akuma69
Sophomore Height SeekerJoined: 30 Jul 2008
Posts: 82
PostPosted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 11:31 pm    Post subject:

thanks for the info mate.fivemore, I would like your opinion on something. Can I listen to trance type songs to achieve the same results?I remember i was doing hypnosis for height few weeks back (stopped now because something came up) for about 3 days. And on my 3rd day I had a very weird experience.I was listening to techno/trance music with headphones while laying in bed at night with eyes closed. These type…..


they not exactly the relaxing type music. And while i was listening to it, i kept telling myself ” tallerrr tallerrr…la la la…talleerrrr. i am talleerrrrrr” like going with the music and saying “taller” with the beat. I was enjoying it. I just went with the flow and let go. This was at 12 am. And after a while i felt like i went into ” auto pilot”. I lost track of time. Suddenly I felt myself wake up (but eyes still closed, i think its called regaining consiousness). I realised I felt awake in my HEAD only (music was still playing). it felt like my body was asleep. I couldn’t really “feel” my body was there at all. I didn’t know what the time was or how long I was in auto pilot for. And then straight away I started saying ” i AM 5 foot 10 now!” and full started to imagine myself at THAT height. Imagined myself eye to eye with my 5 foot 10 friend etc. And I was believing it. After 10 or so minutes of this. I opened my eyes and my body awoke. I then looked at the time and it was 3:30 am. i only did the last part of imagining myself at 5 foot 10 for around 10 mins, so that means the rest of the hours was on AUTOPILOT!!!! 3 HOURS!!! and i thought i only went autopilot for 20 mins.

Could you give me your input in what happened here fivemore?

Cheers

fivemore
Rookie Height SeekerJoined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 32
PostPosted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:08 am    Post subject:

akuma,I don’t recommend listening to anything that’s upbeat like trance, hip hop or rock. There shouldn’t be any lyrics either. The only words you should listen to are grow taller suggestions whether it’s spoken in your head, out loud, or through a tape. Meditation music is not necessary if you prefer silence but meditation music will help.Meditation is such an individual thing, sure, maybe there is some meditation master out there who can have loud rock and trance music at the same time playing in the back ground and two people fighting in the same room she’s in with a tornado threatening to tear down her house and she’s still able to meditate and enter her subconsciousness but this is very hard to do and it takes a lot of practice and sacrifice.So since you’re new to this and you will be new for years to come, I do not recommend it. I can’t tell you what happened in your experience when you ‘blacked out’ while listening to trance and self hypnotizing, all I can do is guess that you managed to take yourself far away from your current state but I doubt you would grow tall that way.

I dont like the term hypnosis and find meditation to be more accurate, and you do have to be aware of your surroundings and let your subconscious mind and body connect and reach a higher state. Imagining that everything around you, including your body is just energy and that you can with the power of your mind change the shape and size of your body.

With meditation you need to be calm, focused, aware of your surroundings, and concentrated, so I don’t suggest you listening to upbeat music while you meditate.

Also.. if you want to know for sure whether you’re doing it right or not., you should feel your body, or in my case, legs, tingle and stretch without any physical effort. It’s as is there are tingly sensations on your legs like they are stretching.

I’ve only had about 6 sessions that last for 30 min each so far so that’s about 6 days of practice but I haven’t done this everyday, it’s been scattered throughout a 2 week period. However, my concentration and focus is much better than before and I’m able to visualize without mind wandering, and the sensations in my legs come faster and stay longer than before. This is good news lol.

I only came back to the forum to look for a link that someone posted recently so I not be checking the forum often, if anyone has any questions PM me but I can’t guarantee when I’ll be checking the messages.

Also, do not measure yourself everyday, or every week. Looking in the mirror to check your height counts too as well as when you walk outside and compare yourself to others. You have to maintain a positive attitude and keep your focus, do not lose your grip .

The hardest part about meditation is patience and effort.

Good luck

akuma69
Sophomore Height SeekerJoined: 30 Jul 2008
Posts: 82
PostPosted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:12 pm    Post subject:

hmm how do you prevent yourself from falling asleep?
fivemore
Rookie Height SeekerJoined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 32
PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 2:20 am    Post subject:

Hi Akuma, it’s hard sometimes not to fall asleep. So all you have to do is try not to fall asleep, it’s will power that’s required.I have grown 0.5 cm permanently, my night height and morning height is both 0.5cm taller than before. I still have growing pains and will continue meditating.I grew 0,5 months ago when I only meditated for 2-3 weeks and stopped since, due to laziness.. I plan on growing 4 more inches until I’m 5’8 and hopefully that’ll be done by the end of this year.When you grow you will experience pain in your joints: Knees, ankles, wrists, elbows, shoulders and sometimes lower back. Sometimes these pains are there without you growing and sometimes you grow a little more. So pain does not always mean gain. But most likely there won’t be no gain without pain. So Try to keep up the meditation everyday so you will grow evenly and get it over with, rather than doing what I did, meditating for 2 weeks and growing and have a persistent pain that slowly wore off without me continuing growth (Becuse i stopped meditating).
akuma69
Sophomore Height SeekerJoined: 30 Jul 2008
Posts: 82
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:09 pm    Post subject:

i do get knee pain sometimes. And sometimes sudden shin pains. All this started when i started meditation. When actual growth happens, is the pain intense and consistent throughout the day everyday? or just random sudden pains?do you have msn? it would be great to have a discussion about qiqong with you.Cheers
Andy Nguyen
Rookie Height SeekerJoined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:38 am    Post subject:

Hey guys,I have practicing self-hyponsis daily since 2 months ago. I have been experiencing the same symptoms you guys have, namely pain around the joints (but not the joints themselves) particularly around the two ends of tibia. When I go to sleep, I will feel some burning pain around my calves and upper arms (similar to the “pain” when working out). At the beginning these pains woke me up at night, but now it seems to have reduced or I got adapted to it. I also notice my body temperature elevates a lot when I try to sleep and you can literally feel your heart beating harder and your blood pushing against your extremities. Even during the day, I will occasionally feel a twitch of pain at random location along my tibia. I think I am growing about 0.7 cm / month (I check monthly) but I haven’t rule out measurment error. Do you guys have any suggestions on making this technique more effective so I don’t have to worry about it being just an error? Thanks and good luck guys!
WireySpindell
Height Seeker PhDJoined: 11 Mar 2006
Posts: 1363
PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 1:34 pm    Post subject:

0.7 cm in 2 mo = over half an inch, dos it not? Thats a pretty fast pace.
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Andy Nguyen
Rookie Height SeekerJoined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:37 am    Post subject:

Hey Wirey,Half an inch is still well within measurement error, or I just happen to have my spine more stretched out for whatever reason, or possibly both together. It is still not a good indicator of actual growth. Even if it really is actual growth, I still hope I can make the method more efficient so I can achieve my goal of 6 ft at graduation (about 1 year from now). Best time for growth is actually this summer because I am expecting my 4th year to be really stressful, so don’t think I will grow as fast (if at all) during school. I know I might be asking too much, but it will give me great confidence in this method if I get a good increase (above 1 cm) by the end of this month. That’s why I want to know if I can improve this method, so I won’t have doubt in this anymore.

One curious note is I weighted about 150 lbs 3 months ago and now I weighted about 168 lbs, even though my diet has not changed. Visually I don’t look much different, just a bit more “chubby” I guess. I got my blood test done and the report will be ready this coming Monday. Hope I don’t have any weird endocrine disorder or something. I will keep you guys updated on this one.

Andy Nguyen
Rookie Height SeekerJoined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:35 pm    Post subject:

I got my blood and urine test report today, and the doctor said I am normal and very healthy. I asked him about the physiological changes that I experienced during the last 3 months, but he just told me to ignore and not worry about them. In other words, the doctor didn’t tell me anything useful.I did notice some parameters of interest however, particularly in regards to the hematology section. I notice the hemoglobin, hematrocrit, RBC and its indices either approach or exceed the upper limit. I did some research on my own and found the hormones responsible for this are the anabolic steroids. Here is what I found from wiki:

Quote:
Anabolic steroids, or anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are a class of steroid hormones related to the hormone testosterone. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue (anabolism), especially in muscles.Anabolic steroids were first isolated, identified and synthesized in the 1930s, and are now used therapeutically in medicine to stimulate bone growth and appetite, induce male puberty, and treat chronic wasting conditions, such as cancer and AIDS.

Some examples of the anabolic effects of these hormones are increased protein synthesis from amino acids, increased appetite, increased bone remodeling and growth, and stimulation of bone marrow, which increases the production of red blood cells. Through a number of mechanisms anabolic steroids stimulate the formation of muscles cells and hence cause an increase in the size of skeletal muscles leading to increased strength.

The androgenic effects of AAS are numerous. Processes affected include pubertal growth, sebaceous gland oil production, and sexuality (especially in fetal development).

A review spanning more than three decades of experimental studies in men found that body weight may increase by 2–5 kg as a result of short term (<10 weeks) AAS use, which may be attributed mainly to an increase of lean mass.

The parts in bold is what I have experienced in significance so far. I have not ruled out muscle mass increase, but that’s very hard to tell since I am muscular to begin with. From what I gather above, it seems hypnosis can actually induce puberty and thus eventually growth. Did anyone have a blood test done during their hynosis routine so they can confirm what I have observed?

bruiseviolet
Sophomore Height SeekerJoined: 28 Apr 2009
Posts: 68
PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:39 pm    Post subject:

^^that is very interesting. Did you take anabolic steroids or did the hypnosis increase them naturally?
_________________
Age: 28, female
Starting: 5’4.25″
Goal: 5’7.5″
Andy Nguyen
Rookie Height SeekerJoined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:24 pm    Post subject:

Nope, my diet is normal and the only supplements I took are Calcium, Magnesium, Vit D, Omega 3 and Glucosamine Sulfate. None of these are precursors to the hormones so I strongly suggest the hormones are the result of hypnosis.I also do NOT recommend anyone to try and take steroids externally, as the problems with them are obvious. Only trust what your body produces and regulates, I will say.
WireySpindell
Height Seeker PhDJoined: 11 Mar 2006
Posts: 1363
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:04 pm    Post subject:

Yeah Andy, is true that .5″ is within error margin, but at lthe same time is the most you could reasonably expect in a two month time frame, roughly. The turth is you can’t really be certain of growth until a solid 3-4 months in of consistent growth. Keep it up, see where you are at 2 months from now.
_________________
Cheers,WireySpindell

Starting Height: 5’8″ (March, 2005)
Current Height: 5’10”
Goal: 5’11”, and then 6’0″ …
Parents Height: 4’11”, 5’9 1/2″
Age: 25

Andy Nguyen
Rookie Height SeekerJoined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

WireySpindell wrote:
Yeah Andy, is true that .5″ is within error margin, but at lthe same time is the most you could reasonably expect in a two month time frame, roughly. The turth is you can’t really be certain of growth until a solid 3-4 months in of consistent growth. Keep it up, see where you are at 2 months from now.

Wirey, you are absolutely correct. But the sad thing is these two months are really my best time for growth, since I really have nothing better to do anyway (relative to after September).

I heard my parents said that whenever I got a fever as a kid I grew the fastest, to the point of measurable difference after I recover from the fever. I remember 3 days after I started hynosis I got this massive fever for a day, and my appetite went sky high as well. Sadly, I didn’t measure right after the fever so I don’t know if it is the same thing. I have not get another fever ever since that time. I kind of wanted to induce that growth fever through hypnosis on purpose, and see how effective that is. Do any hypnosis experts here know how I can achieve that? Thanks a lot!

TrueHeightSeeker
Veteran Height SeekerJoined: 13 Sep 2008
Posts: 114
PostPosted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:22 pm    Post subject:

I bought thishttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=110396809037

Has it Worked so far ? I don’t know Had it for a month
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age : 23

bruiseviolet
Sophomore Height SeekerJoined: 28 Apr 2009
Posts: 68
PostPosted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 5:29 pm    Post subject:

^^Let us know if it works. I want to try hypnosis but I think I need something like that to guide me cuz I’m not sure where to start or if I’m doing it right.
_________________
Age: 28, female
Starting: 5’4.25″
Goal: 5’7.5″
Sixunder
Veteran Height SeekerJoined: 14 Jul 2007
Posts: 184
PostPosted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 9:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks interesting..and relaxing as well. Does anyone else hear little creaks in their spine/neck area when doing deep breathing exercises or laying down and breathing? Ive been noticing that for some time and it goes the same with when I practice this for a bit.

The Regulation Of Gene Expression Explained, What Is HeightQuest And Tyler Talking About?

researchIf you have ever been to Tyler’s website HeightQuest.Com you might have trouble understanding much of what he posts or write about on height increase. His articles are indeed very technical and for a person without a solid molecular biology or genetic educational background, it will be very hard to decipher.

I remember finding the Quest For Height blog maybe 5 years ago when I was trying to gain height myself and I couldn’t figure out what he was talking, and I had majored back in school in something related to chemistry. As I was doing research for this website, it was inevitable that I would be required to read over his findings and discoveries in his journey. Remember what Newton stated in his address to Hooke, “If I have seen further it is by standing on ye sholders of Giants…” There is no way I would have gotten as far this quickly without the research already done by people before me like Sky (Ryan Nguyen), Tyler Christopher Davis , Harald (from Biomedical Growth Research Initiative), Hakker, and many others who have shown the way for people like me.

When I started to read over his writings again, I made a commitment to myself to do as much research and studying as possible to fully understand what he is talking about. There are many terms he uses like “up-regulation”, “down-regulation”, “inhibit”, “promote” , “gene expression”, etc. I am going to trying to explain for the reader what these terms mean in simple language, and also try to synthesize and outline what Tyler’s research has been on for the last 4 years.


Analysis & Interpretation:

When Tyler talks about up-regulation and down-regulation what he is talking about is a phenomenon in genetics dealing with the idea that from different quantities, concentrations, and intensity of external stimuli, whether chemical, mechanical, biological, etc. the stimuli will change something in the environment outside the cell. The change on the outside will then make a change on the inside of the cell. That means that the signal that are transduced and sent into the cell are also modified. Depending on how which genes get light up and activated in each the nucleus of almost all cells, the genes would make the proteins they are supposed to make, thus changing the nature and function of the cells.

So when the term “up-regulated” appears, that means that through some external (maybe also internal) effect, the areas in the genome of the nucleus which correspond to certain genes will get “light up” or activated more than other areas of the genome. When this happens, those areas or genes will make a certain type of protein. Will an increase in a certain type of protein, certain pathways and signals are more liekly to happen and increase in number. This might mean cell proliferation or differentiate, which is what we are hoping to do when we take the stem cells from the bone marrow and force them to turn into cartilage cells so that they can possibly develop into a new cartilage in long bones ie. growth plate. The science and idea is what I would say is a long shot but it is something worth considering.

The function of all genes is to make proteins.

As for the overall out line of Tyler’s work, it seems that what Tyler has been focused mainly on in his work is to prove that there is a non-invasive, cheap and simple to implement,  exercise like, method to increasing in height and that is known as Lateral Synovial Joint Loading, LSJL for short. He states that he didn’t want to even start writing the blog on the subject on height increase until he was inspired by Sky and his work and website EasyHeight.Com. He also waited until he was sure that he had found a real legitimate way to increase height before talking about the subject. This was a very smart move because this way, he had a solution to his readers problems and desires right from the beginning. All he had to do then was to find studies and tests done to validate this method and idea.

From what I have seen, it appears that he has applied the LSJL technique on himself and have been refining the method for maybe over 3 years now. His measured gains is 1.5 inches in extra height, which is a very noticeable and large gain, and we are quite positive that his growth plates had closed by the time he started to try out the LSJL method. This seems to give clear evidence that his promoted technique LSJL really does work.

Most of his articles is to prove that using just advanced knowledge on how endochondral ossification, the various growth factors, endocrinology, and genetics work, one can figure out how to really increase one’s height legitimately using clever body hacks.

The basis on his ideas seems to be in finding any way possible to get the mesenchymal stem cells and other types of progenitor cells like Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the inter medullary bone cavity of the epiphysis ends of the long bones to differentiate at a faster level or rate into chondrocytes. Theoretically the chondrocytes will then release the right types of excretions like Collagen fibers and other proteoglycans in the right order to allow for more chondrocytes to be created. If then the chondrocytes can be signaled to increase in size aka hypertrophy then the number of chondrocytes can push the bones around them to expand. This is due to both an increase in the hydrostatic pressure and the increase in size of chondrocytes. remember that the chondrocytes in the growth plates has to hypertrophy to an increase size of up to 10X in the hypertrophy zone which is one of the steps needed that leads to real longitudinal growth in the endochondral ossification process.

In addition, Tyler also is looking at how the different proteins, hormones, and genes are linked together in what way. Remember that the purpose of genes are to create proteins. supposedly, (at least from my knowledge on genes) one specific type of gene will create only type specific type of gene, in a one to one relationship.

This means that one gene leads to one type of protein. That protein which can be either a hormone, enzyme, transcription factor, ligand, binding factor, etc can have many different roles and functions in the body. Since we are only interested in figuring out how to make ourselves taller, we are focusing only on the proteins that have been already discovered by other researchers to be linked to the endochondral ossification process, the chondrogenesis process, and the hormone signaling process.

We call the proteins that are involved growth factors, but there are also other small molecules which are involved as well but not in a growth promoting way. There are the Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs), the fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), the hedgehog signals (like IHH), the entire transforming growth factor beta family (TGF-beta), the parathyroid hormone and its receptors (PTH and PTHrP), the Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the insulin like growth factors (IGF-1 and IGF-2), growth hormone or somatotropin (GH), but also things like the Estrogen receptors alpha and beta, the different types of Collagen, but specifically Type- II, Type-IX, Type-X, Typer-XI, the proteoglacan group members like agreccan, etc. and others that play smaller roles.

There are certain types of genes that comes up over and over again that show to have very big influences on how growth occurs like SOX9 and RUNx2 and HGMA2 and he (and others in this endeavor) are all trying to figure out how all of this stuff connects to each other. In a way, this is very much like a big jigsaw puzzle and we are looking at each compound to see how it fits with the other compounds, signals, and proteins to see how they either promote or inhibit the behavior of others. There are indeed many steps and parts of the process which we haven’t found yet which represent the missing jigsaw puzzle pieces and that will take time to find.

There are already people like me and him who are trying to create large networks with all the pieces linked to each other. For me, I am looking to see and figure out which signals or compounds are the critical ones. The critical compounds are either the process initiating compounds or the compounds that are process and rate limiting. If we can figure out these compounds, we can thus implement and apply some type of external stimuli through say an electrical signal or mechanical load, cause the initial process beginning compounds to gain or increase their expression and numbers. This would push the growing process forward and to be faster. If we then also fire out which compounds are the rate limiting ones, the ones that are the weak link and cause the bottleneck in the speed of the growing process, we can then hack those steps to increase either their numbers or their speed of function. These two elements and functions would then allow people to grow at a faster rate and attain a height ultimate height. If we then understand the process even better and at a greater detail ,we can create better, less invasive, cheaper, and faster surgical or even non-surgical ways to increase our height.


For references, let’s look at what Wikipedia says about gene regulation and gene expression.(available HERE and HERE).

Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product. These products are often proteins, but in non-protein coding genes such as ribosomal RNA (rRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA) or small nuclear RNA (snRNA) genes, the product is a functional RNA. The process of gene expression is used by all known life – eukaryotes (including multicellular organisms), prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea), possibly induced by viruses – to generate the macromolecular machinery for life. Several steps in the gene expression process may be modulated, including thetranscription, RNA splicing, translation, and post-translational modification of a protein. Gene regulation gives the cell control over structure and function, and is the basis for cellular differentiation, morphogenesis and the versatility and adaptability of any organism. Gene regulation may also serve as a substrate for evolutionary change, since control of the timing, location, and amount of gene expression can have a profound effect on the functions (actions) of the gene in a cell or in a multicellular organism.

In genetics, gene expression is the most fundamental level at which the genotype gives rise to the phenotype. The genetic code stored in DNA is “interpreted” by gene expression, and the properties of the expression give rise to the organism’s phenotype. Such phenotypes are often expressed by the synthesis of proteins that control the organism’s shape, or that act as enzymes catalysing specific metabolic pathways characterising the organism.

Regulation of gene expression

Regulation of gene expression refers to the control of the amount and timing of appearance of the functional product of a gene. Control of expression is vital to allow a cell to produce the gene products it needs when it needs them; in turn this gives cells the flexibility to adapt to a variable environment, external signals, damage to the cell, etc. Some simple examples of where gene expression is important are:

More generally gene regulation gives the cell control over all structure and function, and is the basis for cellular differentiation, morphogenesis and the versatility and adaptability of any organism.

Any step of gene expression may be modulated, from the DNA-RNA transcription step to post-translational modification of a protein. The stability of the final gene product, whether it is RNA or protein, also contributes to the expression level of the gene – an unstable product results in a low expression level. In general gene expression is regulated through changes in the number and type of interactions between molecules that collectively influence transcription of DNA and translation of RNA.

 

I Really Don’t Know What I Am Doing

This is another one of those confessions. Sometimes when I write a post or article on a subject dealing with height increase, I actually only understand like 60% of what the article is really talking about. Maybe I am stupid but I really don’t know what I am doing.

I was not educated or trained to be a biochemist or geneticist, but as a chemical engineer. They may sound similar for a person who don’t deal with the sciences but these two areas of study are worlds apart from each other. A chemical engineer does not build bombs or make drugs as some people might think. Chemical Engineers are glorified plumbers. Most people who call themselves chemical engineers are either climbing up huge packing towers or looking at numbers and state variables in a big computerized room. I did very little biochemistry in school. When I was in the class, all I wanted to do was get through that class with a okay grade so I can focus on the classes within my major. It was a very stressful and mentally draining time. I don’t remember anything from those subjects so for me to try to take on this project is a mammoth task.

I never thought I would ever be going back to biochemistry or the area of genetics to learn again. Now I find myself reading up on stuff like the Kreb Cycle, nutrition, organic chemistry reactions, orthopedics, endocrinology, mechanical engineering, material science, biomedical engineering, a whole database of proteins an genes, pathologies, disorders, etc. Everyday is a huge learning experience. I swear to god if I am still doing this stuff in 3 years, I am going to take the MCATS and just go to medical school because it would be a waste to forget all this learned information later. I might as well get something out of it for all of my troubles.

You really just have to put up with me for a while because one of the reasons I write certain articles is that I am learning along as I am doing the research. Some people say that the best way to learn to to teach the material. Well, for me to be able to transmit the information, I have to understand it at least within a somewhat respectable level. Everyday I have to look up stuff on google and wikipedia because I encounter 20 new medical terms. If you are reading some articles and it seems like I don’t know what I am talking about, you are probably right. I just started learning this stuff maybe 1 month ago. I had been writing for about 1 entire month of articles on height increase which only consisted of common sense ideas and theories. Now it is time to sit down and do the hard work. There is no getting around that anymore. We have to focus on the science and be willing to work together to innovate and come up with new ideas and push the edge of technology further. There is no “magic bullet”

P.S. – I don’t plan to write anymore posts until I feel I have written and completed the endocrinology, orthopaedics, and the protein list posts as detailed and extensively as possible. Those posts are critical for me to write and understand before I can continue on with the endeavor. Over the next 2-3 weeks, I will only work on those 3 posts. Hopefully you can be patient and maybe read along with the findings and continuous editing going on.

Complete Height Increase Protein, Hormone, Compound, And Molecule Listing And Pathway Map

I am going to list and try to draw the effects each gene or protein has on other genes and proteins. The purpose of this post is to allow for me and maybe the readers to get  more general broad view of how each of the proteins and hormones involved in the growth process interact with each other. This will help us figure out which hormones are more significant than others.

If you think I forgot something don’t hesitate to inform me since I am going to need all the help I need to fill out this massive biochemical project. I was not trained to be a biochemist.

Note 1: No more posts will be written until this post, the Endocrinology section, and the Orthopaedics section are all described in as much detail as possible.

Note 2: This post is going to take at least 3 weeks to completely fill out. Much of the information was taken from HeightQuest post HERE.


Terminology:

The reason I am using this is to make my life easier, but maybe not the readers. If any of you have ever read a paper on set theory or just another language with unfamiliar symbols in general, like hieroglyphics, then you realize that understanding the notations and syntax rules help you understand what the symbols represent.

+ means two or more elements are needed to form something else

= means it is the same (or goes by another name) as the next product

[…] is a symbol notation taken from elementary mathematics to state that whatever is in the square brackets takes precedent in importance

(=) means it binds to the next compound, like a receptor to a ligand

=> means it turns into

(=)> means it helps or assists in the process with some other element/s

(+)> means it promotes the functions and effects of the next product or phenomena

+> means it increases the presence and existence of the next product by increasing its numbers

(-)> means it inhibits the functions and effects of the next product or phenomena

-> means it decreases the presence and existence of the next product by reducing its numbers


Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, (4), (5), (6), (7) (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14),(15)

Osteoclasts are multinuclear cells derived from hematopoietic stem cells (1): Hematopoietic stem cells => Osteoclasts

Receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL; also called tumor necrosis factor-related activation-induced cytokine (TRANCE), osteoprotegerin ligand (OPGL) or osteoclast differentiation factor (ODF))  (1) : RANKL = TRANCE = OPGL = ODF  (I am going to call this RANKL for short)

Thus a promyeloid precursor can differentiate into either an osteoclast, a macrophage or a dendritic cell, depending on whether it is exposed to receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL; also called tumor necrosis factor-related activation-induced cytokine (TRANCE), osteoprotegerin ligand (OPGL) or osteoclast differentiation factor (ODF)) macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM- CSF), respectively (1):

  • Promyeloid precursor + RANKL => Osteoclast
  • Promyeloid precursor + M-CSF => Macrophage  
  • Promyeloid precursor + GM-CSF => Dendritic cell

Simonet et al. (1997) found that several cells and tissues produce a soluble factor, osteoprotegerin (OPG), that strongly inhibits osteoclast formation in vitro and in vivo. (1) : Osteoprotegerin (OPG) –> Osteoclast formation

The inhibitory effect of OPG on the osteoclast differentiation is due to the fact that it can prevent the binding of RANKL to its receptor, RANK (Hsu et al., 1999) (1);

OPG (-)> [RANKL (=) RANK] (this translates to OPG inhibits the ability of RANKL to bind with RANK)

The molecular mechanism that prevents chondrocyte hypertrophy is distinct from that which drives proliferation. (3)

Chondrocytes arise out of mesenchymal condensations and establish the skeletal element (3)

Vertebrate long bones form through a process called endochondral ossification in which a cartilage template is replaced by a bony matrix. As the element grows, cells in the center become hypertrophic, transitioning from a mitotically active, type II collagen (Col II)-expressing state to a postmitotic, type X collagen (Col X)- expressing state (3)

Continued elongation of the element requires the establishment of a growth plate, where the stage of maturation is correlated with the distance from the articular  surface  (3)

An important determinant of the growth rate is the total number of proliferating chondrocytes (Hunziker, 1988), which depends on the size of the mitotically active pool of cells and the rate at which these cells proliferate. (3)

Correct morphogenesis requires integration of proliferation and hypertrophy over the entire element and, for the long bones, this includes defining the long axis of the element along which growth is directed. Understanding growth and morphogenesis of the long bones, therefore, requires elucidation of the mechanisms that (1) maintain a domain of mitotically active chondrocytes, in part through the regulation of chondrocyte maturation, (2) control the rate of proliferation of these cells, (3) drive growth primarily along the long axis of the element, and (4) ossify the element  (3)

Null mutations in PTHrP (PTHrP−/−) result in decreased numbers of mitotically active chondrocytes (Karaplis et al., 1996), whereas overexpression of PTHrP increases this pool (Weir et al., 1996), establishing a role for PTHrP in determining the size of the population of proliferating chondrocytes. (3) !!! (Proof that PTHrP increase will increase in overall growth rate for extremely young kids)

Activation of hedgehog signaling can increase the pool of proliferating cells, but this effect requires intact PTHrP signaling (Vortkamp et al., 1996; Lanske et al., 1996). Combined with the ability of Ihh to upregulate PTHrP, this work suggested a model in which Ihh upregulates PTHrP to delay chondrocyte hypertrophy. (3)

These are all the results for source 3 linking the effect of ihh to PTHrP…

  • Long bone development in Ihh−/−; PTHrP−/− double mutants is identical to Ihh−/− mice but distinct from PTHrP−/− mice
  • Activation of PTHrP signalling has no effect on chondrocyte proliferation or limb size but rescues chondrocyte hypertrophy in Ihh−/− mice
  • PTHrP signaling is sufficient to maintain a population of mitotically active chondrocytes in Ihh−/−
  • PTHrP signaling does not affect the chondrocyte proliferation rate in Ihh−/− mice
  • PTHrP−/− mice display decreased proliferation rates
  • Ihh−/− limbs display isotropic growth, in contrast to PTHrP−/− or wild-type limbs
  • Ihh is necessary for PTHrP function
  • Ihh drives chondrocyte proliferation in a largely PTHrP-independent pathway
  • hh is necessary to establish growth primarily along the long axis of the bone
  • Ihh coordinates endochondral bone development

From  previous post entitled “Increase Height And Grow Taller Using Bone Morphogenetic Proteins, BMPs (Guest Post)“…

  • BMP are also known as (aka) CDMPs (Cartilage Derived Morphogenetic Proteins) and GDFs (Growth Differentiation Factors).
  • They are associated with BMPRs (BMP receptors). There are two types of BMPRs, Type I and Type II…
  • There is at least 20 members in the BMP family/group
  • Function: 1. Stimulators of bone formation & 2. Important regulators of growth, differentiation, and morphogenesis.
  • BMP-2, -4, and -7 are found in the perchondrium
  • BMP-6 is found in the prehypertrophic & hypertrophic chondrocytes. Function: May meditate the ihh & PTHrP growth restraining feedback loop. Also has an autocrine/paracrine role in prehypertrophic chondrocytes.
  • Type I of BMPRs is BMPRI. There are two types of BMPRI, type A and type B…
  • BMPRI – differentially localized in embryonic limbs
  • Type A of BMPRI is BMPRIA – confined to pre-hypertrophic chondrocytes. – Function: controls the pace of chondrocyte differentiation. Critical for chondrocyte hypertrophy.
  • Type B of BMPRI is BMPRIB – detected in early mesenchymal condensations. Function: is involved in early cartilage formation and cell death (apoptosis). A targeted disruption of BMPRIB show defects in proliferation of prechondrogenic cells and chondrocyte differentiation in the phalangeal region
  • GDF5 is a ligand for BMPRIB.
  • Type II of BMPRs is BMPRII – BMPRI heterodimerize with the BMPRII
  • GDF-5 and BMP-5 are important mediators of chondrocyte differentiation in mesenchymal condensation at various sites.
  • Normal chondrocyte proliferation requires parallel signaling of both Ihh and BMPs and that BMPs are capable of inhibiting chondrocyte differentiation independently of the Ihh/PTHrP pathway.
  • Smad1, 5 and 8 are the immediate downstream molecules of BMP receptors and play a central role in BMP signal transduction
  • BMPs signal through serine/threonine kinase receptors, composed of type I and II subtypes.
  • 1. BMPR-IA is ALK-3
  • 2. BMPR-IB is ALK-6
  • 3. BMPR type IA  is the activin receptor
  • The BMP7 type I receptor ALK2 can activate the Smad1 signaling pathways.
  • Three type II receptors for BMPs have also been identified and they are type II BMP receptor (BMPR-II) and type II and IIB activin receptors.

1. Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-β)

Function: TGF betas are involved in embryogenesis and cell differentiation and in apoptosis. Causes the transcription of mRNAs involved in apoptosis, extracellular matrix neogenesis and immunosuppression. It is also involved in G1 arrest in the cell cycle. They bind to TGF-beta receptor type-2 (TGFBR2)

TGFβ1 –

TGFβ2 –

TGFβ3 –

2. Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)

Causes:

Function: bind to the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type-2 (BMPR2). They are involved in a multitude of cellular functions including osteogenesis, cell differentiation, anterior/posterior axis specification, growth, and homeostasis. BMP signaling plays critical roles in heart, neural and cartilage development.

Effects: BMPs signal through serine/threonine kinase receptors, composed of type I and II subtypes.

Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 (BMP-2)

Gene: BMP2 gene

Group:  TGF-β superfamily of proteins

Causes:

Function:Is involved in the hedgehog pathway, TGF beta signaling pathway, and in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. It is involved also in cardiac cell differentiation and epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Has been shown to interact with BMPR1A

Effects:

  • Have been demonstrated to potently induce osteoblast differentiation in a variety of cell types.
  • Shown to stimulate the production of bone
  • Implantation of BMP-2 in a collagen sponge induces new bone formation and can be used for the treatment of bony defects, delayed union, and non-union
  • BMP-2 can be utilized in various therapeutic interventions such as bone defects, non-union fractures, spinal fusion, osteoporosis and root canal surgery.

Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 (BMP-4)

Gene: BMP4 gene

Group: a member of the bone morphogenetic protein family which is part of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily

Causes: BMP4 is secreted from the dorsal portion of the notochord, and it acts in concert with sonic hedgehog (released from the ventral portion of the notochord) to establish a dorsal-ventral axis for the differentiation of later structures

Function: Plays an important role in the onset of endochondral bone formation in humans. It has been shown to be involved in muscle development, bone mineralization, and ureteric bud development. In human embryonic development, BMP4 is a critical signaling molecule required for the early differentiation of the embryo and establishing of a dorsal-ventral axis.

Effects: Inhibition of the BMP4 signal (by chorine, noggin, or follistatin) causes the ectoderm to differentiate into the neural plate. If these cells also receive signals from FGF, they will differentiate into the spinal cord; in the absence of FGF the cells become brain tissue

Pathologies: Increase in expression of BMP4 has been associated with a variety of bone diseases, including the heritable disorder Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva. There is strong evidence from sequencing studies of candidate genes involved in clefting that mutations in the bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) gene may be associated in the pathogenesis of cleft lip and palate.

Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7 or Osteogenic Protein-1 (BMP7 or  OP-1)

Gene: encoded by the BMP-7 gene

Group: a member of the TGF-β superfamily

Causes: Inhibited by noggin and chordin. It is expressed in the brain, kidneys and bladder

Function: plays a key role in the transformation of mesenchymal cells into bone and cartilage.

Effects: Induces the phosphorylation of SMAD1 and SMAD5, which in turn induce transcription of numerous osteogenic genes. treatment is sufficient to induce all of the genetic markers of osteoblast differentiation in many cell types.

Bone Morphogenetic Protein 9 (BMP9) or Growth differentiation factor 2 (GDF2)

Gene: Encoded by the GDF2 gene

Group: Belongs to the transforming growth factor beta superfamily

Causes:

Function:

Effects: GDF2 is one of the most potent BMPs to induce orthotopic bone formation in vivo. BMP3, a blocker of most BMPs seems not to affect GDF2.

3. Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1)

Gene:

Group:

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Effects:

4. Insulin-like Growth Factor 2 (IGF-2)

Gene:

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6. Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF)

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:  Involved in angiogenesis, wound healing, and embryonic development. Are key players in the processes of proliferation and differentiation of wide variety of cells and tissues. The functions of FGFs in developmental processes include mesoderm induction, antero-posterior patterning,[6] limb development, neural induction and neural development,[14] and in mature tissues/systems angiogenesis, keratinocyte organization, and wound healing processes.

Effects:

FGF7

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FGF18

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FGF23

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Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors (FGFR)

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FGFR1 (Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1)

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FGFR2 (Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2)

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FGFR3 (Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3)

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FGFR4 (Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4)

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FGFR6

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7. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)

Gene:

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8. SOX9 – Transcription factor

Gene: SOX9 gene

Group: SOX9 sits in a gene desert on 17q24 in humans

Causes:

Function: Recognizes the sequence CCTTGAG along with other members of the HMG-box class DNA-binding proteins. It acts during chondrocyte differentiation and, with steroidogenic factor 1, regulates transcription of the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) gene.

Effects: SOX9 has been shown to interact with Steroidogenic factor 1, MED12 and MAF

9. Parathyroid hormone-related protein (or PTHrP)

Gene:

Group: A protein member of the parathyroid hormone family

Causes:

Function: Acts as an endocrine, autocrine, paracrine, and intracrine hormone. It regulates endochondral bone development by maintaining the endochondral growth plate at a constant width. It also regulates epithelial-mesenchymal interactions during the formation of the mammary glands

Effects:

PTHrP shares the same N-terminal end as parathyroid hormone and therefore it can bind to the same receptor, the Type I PTH receptor (PTHR1). PTHrP can simulate most of the actions of PTH including increases in bone resorption and distal tubular calcium reabsorption, and inhibition of proximal tubular phosphate transport.

However, PTHrP is less likely than PTH to stimulate 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D production. Therefore, PTHrP does not increase intestinal calcium absorption.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein has been shown to interact with KPNB1 and Arrestin beta 1

10. Parathyroid Hormone (PTH)

Gene:

Group:

Causes: Secreted by the chief cells of the parathyroid glands as a polypeptide containing 84 amino acids.

  • Decreased serum [Ca2+].
  • Mild decreases in serum [Mg2+].
  • An increase in serum phosphate (increased phosphate causes it to complex with serum calcium, forming calcium phosphate, which reduces stimulation of Ca-sensitive receptors (CaSr) that do not sense calcium phosphate, triggering an increase in PTH)

Function: It acts to increase the concentration of calcium (Ca2+) in the blood by acting upon the parathyroid hormone 1 receptor (high levels in bone and kidney) and the parathyroid hormone 2 receptor (high levels in the central nervous system, pancreas, testis, and placenta)

Effects:

It enhances the release of calcium from the large reservoir contained in the bones. Bone resorption is the normal destruction of bone by osteoclasts, which are indirectly stimulated by PTH. Stimulation is indirect since osteoclasts do not have a receptor for PTH; rather, PTH binds to osteoblasts, the cells responsible for creating bone. Binding stimulates osteoblasts to increase their expression of RANKL and inhibits their expression of Osteoprotegerin (OPG). OPG binds to RANKL and blocks it from interacting with RANK, a receptor for RANKL. The binding of RANKL to RANK (facilitated by the decreased amount of OPG) stimulates these osteoclast precursors to fuse, forming new osteoclasts, which ultimately enhances bone resorption.

It enhances active reabsorption of calcium and magnesium from distal tubules and the thick ascending limb. As bone is degraded, both calcium and phosphate are released. It also decreases the reabsorption of phosphate, with a net loss in plasma phosphate concentration. When the calcium:phosphate ratio increases, more calcium is free in the circulation.

  • Hyperparathyroidism, the presence in the blood of excessive amounts of parathyroid hormone, occurs in two very distinct sets of circumstances. Primary hyperparthyroidism is due to autonomous, abnormal hypersecretion of PTH in the parathyroid gland while secondary hyperparathyroidism is an appropriately high PTH level seen as a physiological response to hypocalcaemia
  • A low level of PTH in the blood is known as hypoparathyroidism and is most commonly due to damage to or removal of parathyroid glands during thyroid surgery.

11. Estrogen receptor alpha (ER-α)

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

12. Estrogen receptor beta (ER-β), also known as NR3A2

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

13. Indian hedgehog homolog (Drosophila), also known as IHH

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

Activation of Ihh signaling upregulates PTHrP at the articular surface and prevents chondrocyte hypertrophy in wild-type but not PTHrP null explants, suggesting that Ihh acts through PTHrP.

Ihh positively regulates PTHrP, which is sufficient to prevent chondrocyte hypertrophy and maintain a normal domain of cells competent to undergo proliferation. In contrast, Ihh is necessary for normal chondrocyte proliferation in a pathway that can not be rescued by PTHrP signaling. This identifies Ihh as a coordinator of skeletal growth and morphogenesis, and refines the role of PTHrP in mediating a subset of Ihh’s actions.

14. Collagen Type -I

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

15. Collagen Type-2

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

16. Androgen Receptor (AR), also known as NR3C4 (nuclear receptor subfamily 3, group C, member 4)

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

17. Somatropin (GH)

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

18. Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR, or GCR) also known as NR3C1 (nuclear receptor subfamily 3, group C, member 1)

19. Growth Differentiation Factor Number 5 (GDF-5)

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects: Genomic mutations in the human GDF5 gene have been shown to cause chondrodysplasia Grebe type, acromesomelic chondrodysplasia Hunter Thompson type, and brachydactyly type C, all of which are mainly characterized by defects of the limbs, with increasing severity toward the distal regions

20. Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

21. Beta-catenin (or β-catenin)

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

22. Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR; ErbB-1; HER1)

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

23. Runt-related Transcription Factor 2 (RUNX2) or Core-Binding Factor Subunit Alpha-1 (CBF-alpha-1)

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

24. Follistatin also known as activin-binding protein

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

25. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

26. Activin 

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function: involved in embryogenesis and osteogenesis. They also regulate many hormones including pituitary, gonadal and hypothalamic hormones as well as insulin. They are also nerve cell survival factors. causes the transcription of mRNAs involved in gonadal growth, embryo differentiation and placenta formation.

Effects:

Activin A,

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

Activin B 

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

Activin AB

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

27. Noggin (NOG)

Gene:

Group: similar in function to chordin.

Causes:

Function: Noggin is an antagonist of BMPs. They bind BMPs preventing the binding of the ligand to the receptor.

Effects: Several mutations in the BMP antagonist noggin result in proximal symphalangism and multiple synostoses syndrome.

28. Growth differentiation factors (GDFs) – (all from Wikipedia article on GDF)

  • GDF1 is expressed chiefly in the nervous system and functions in left-right patterning and mesoderm induction during embryonic development.[2]
  • GDF2 (also known as BMP9) induces and maintains the response embryonic basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCN) have to a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, and regulates iron metabolism by increasing levels of a protein called hepcidin.[3][4]
  • GDF3 is also known as “Vg-related gene 2” (Vgr-2). Expression of GDF3 occurs in ossifying bone during embryonic development and in the thymus, spleen, bone marrow brain, and adipose tissue of adults. It has a dual nature of function; it both inhibits and induces early stages of development in embryos.[5][6][7]
  • GDF5 is expressed in the developing central nervous system, with roles in the development of joints and the skeleton, and increasing the survival of neurones that respond to a neurotransmitter calleddopamine.[8][9][10]
  • GDF6 interacts with bone morphogenetic proteins to regulate ectoderm patterning, and controls eye development.[11][12][13]
  • GDF8 is now officially known as myostatin and controls the growth of muscle tissue.[14]
  • GDF9, like GDF3, lacks one cysteine relative to other members of the TGF-β superfamily. Its gene expression is limited to the ovaries, and it has a role in ovulation.[15][16]
  • GDF10 is closely related to BMP3 and has a roles in head formation and, it is presumed, in skeletal morphogenesis.[17][18] It is also known as BMP-3b.
  • GDF11 controls anterior-posterior patterning by regulating the expression of Hox genes,[19] and regulates the number of olfactory receptor neurons occurring in the olfactory epithelium,[20] and numbers of retinal ganglionic cells developing in the retina.[21]
  • GDF15 (also known as TGF-PL, MIC-1, PDF, PLAB, and PTGFB) has a role in regulating inflammatory and apoptotic pathways during tissue injury and certain disease processes.

29. MMP

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

30. Smad 

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects: Smad1, 5 and 8 are the immediate downstream molecules of BMP receptors and play a central role in BMP signal transduction

SMAD1

Gene:

Group:

Causes: BMP receptors

Function: play a central role in BMP signal transduction

Effects:

SMAD2

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

SMAD3

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

SMAD5

Gene:

Group:

Causes: BMP receptors

Function: play a central role in BMP signal transduction

Effects:

SMAD9

Gene:

Group:

Causes:

Function:

Effects:

 

A Hypothesis On the Link Between Growth, Height, Cancer, And Longevity

I am almost positive now that there is a clear correlation between the fact that a genetic propensity for extra height means a correlation to more chances to develop cancer, but also the possibility to age faster as well.

The best example is between people who are are big meat eaters, espousing the importance of protein. People who eat meat have ben tested and they are on average taller than their vegetarian peers (from evidence on Paleolithic humans compared to humans who started agriculture and eating grains), but they are also more likely to develop cancer and seem to live shorter lives with an increase in heart diseases.

There was a famous book that came out 20 years ago called “The China Study” which seemed to show that people who lived in rural china and lived on a diet of clean fresh vegetables seemed to have far lower rates of high cholesterol, heart disease, obesity, and other cardiovascular disease which had been affecting the Americans. The book’s main claim is that if you wanted to live longer and decrease your chances of developing some form of chronic cardiovascular disease later in life, you want to eat a diet similar to rural Chinese.

What obviously was not considered is that people in rural china may have lower levels of heart related disease, but they are also far shorter than the average american, which lives on more meat. It seems that there is a tradeoff between height and health.

This type of example is seen also in the Japanese. We have heard that the Japanese are well known to live the longest of all the countries, with men averaging about 80 years in life expectancy in the small prefecture of Okiwana. Sciences have been fascinated at trying to understand why the Japanese have such high life spans and they credit it to the food, which is based on fish which is full of good fats and Omega-3. They have traditionally not eaten much cow or pig, and that is the reason western scientists think the Japanese are healthier and live longer.

Again, remember that the Japanese even though they are modernized, developed, and such are still one of the shortest ethnicities of a developed nation. Just like the Chinese, the Japanese are on average shorter than the height of the average western caucasian.

What is always noted at the end of these studies is that the younger generation of Chinese and Japanese from the influence of Western food like KFC and MacDonalds coming in, there are higher rates of obesity, heart disease, and similar problems. However, it is also noted that the younger generation of Chinese and Japanese are also much taller than the older generation. Maybe there is a correlation between the two factors.

Western Caucasians seem to note and state that East Asian people seem to age slower than Western Caucasian people. They look younger than they really are. (I personally once met a 32 year old Japanese girl at a casino that looked like she was 18). The same westerners would also note that the same asian people who look younger than they really are are also usually shorter than they are.

The last example is to use my own genetics as an example. In my family, only my mother’s father side of the family has the height gene. He was a very tall man and the height which I have is from his side of the family. However, all of my family lineage have been mostly cancer free except for his side. Although all 3 of my grandparents were either short or average in height, there is very little cancer in their families. My paternal grandfather seems to have many cases of cancer in his family line. All of my male cousins from my mother’s side of the family are tall, and many are taller than me.

Plus, I would be considered “tall” for my ethnicity and so would one of my younger sister. However, I have always known that my face seems to age faster than normal and I have always looked older than I really am. My younger sister does as well since she developed very quickly and reached puberty at a rather young age. My other sister who is shorter, developed slower but seems to have better health and genetic fitness than my taller sister. In addition, the taller sister has noted that her hair grows extremely fast, which is similar to my hair, which also grows extremely fast. My shorter sister has average rate increase of her hair.