Scientists find potential protein biomarkers for grow...(f detecting growth hormone analyzing lev...)

"If you have an 18-year-old Olympic athlete and a 38-year-old athlete, the IGF-1 values may look very different," said Kopchick, whose research is funded by the Ohio Eminent Scholars program and Ohio University's Edison Biotechnology Institute.

Because identification of rhGH misuse or abuse has high stakes it can make or break an athletic career the current method has too many variables to depend on, he said.

It's still early to tell whether these protein markers have the same age limitations, as the mice in the study live to only 2 years. But the markers may have longer half lives of several days, which would offer a wider testing window, he said.

Kopchick already is exploring how to detect rhGH in human blood and tissues through a project with Danish scientist J.O. Jorgensen. The team received a three-year grant from the World Anti-Doping Agency to look for protein markers in blood and tissues of human subjects exposed to rhGH or exercise, as well as patients with growth hormone disorders.

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