METHOD FOR TREATMENT AND PREVENTION
OF DISEASE IN ANIMALS
The present invention relates generally to the treatment and prevention of disease. More particularly, it relates to methods for strengthening the immune system of an animal, including a human.
Disease in animals is primarily overcome by the animal's immune system. It is known that growth hormone (also known as somatotropin) has a stimulative effect on the immune system. This is a result of its effect on
T-cells, macrophages and other parts of the immune system.
It would be advantageous to have methods of increasing the production of growth hormone so that the stimulation of an animal's immune system is increased.
It is an object of the present invention to disclose methods of increasing the effective amount of growth hormone in an animal so that the stimulation of the animal's immune system is increased.
I have discovered that the immune system of an animal can be stimulated if the effective amount of growth hormone in the animal is increased during the early stage of nocturnal sleep (i. e. approximately the first 90 minutes).
More specifically, I have discovered that if during the early nocturnal sleep of an animal, such as a human, the effective amount of growth hormone in the animal is increased, the immune response of the animal is increased and the production of T-cells, macrophages and other parts of the immune system are optimized to create an optimal immune response in the animal.
The effective amount of growth hormone may be increased by either administering to the animal substances that directly increase the growth hormone or by methods which block the adverse effects of melatonin on the animal's own growth hormone production.
Methods of directly increasing the amount of growth hormone include the following: (1) By Growth Hormone Supplementation
In this embodiment of the method the levels of growth hormone in an animal are increased by administering growth hormone itself to the animal before the onset of the early stage of nocturnal sleep so that increased growth hormone is available during that early stage of nocturnal sleep.
(2) By Administering Growth Hormone Stimulating
Chemicals
In this embodiment of the invention the effective amount of growth hormone in an animal is increased by administering to the animal a substance that stimulates growth hormone production in the body during the early stage of nocturnal sleep so that increased growth hormone is available during that early stage of nocturnal sleep.
The adverse effects of melatonin production on growth hormone production can be blocked until after the early stage of nocturnal sleep by one of the following embodiments of the methods of the present invention: (1) By The Chemical Blocking Of The Production Of
Melatonin
In this embodiment of the method the patient is administered a safe and effective amount of a substance that blocks the production of melatonin until after the early stages of nocturnal sleep (i. e., approximately the first 90 minutes of human sleep). The substance is given to the patient daily before sunset at a time sufficiently prior to sunset for the substance to be absorbed by the body and to begin the blocking of the production of melatonin at about the time of sunset and to continue the blocking until the onset of sleep and during the early stage of nocturnal sleep.
(2) By The Use Of Light To Block The Production Of
Melatonin.
In this embodiment of the method, the patient is exposed to a bright light (1,500 Lux to 12,000 Lux) for intermittent periods of time between the time of sunset and the onset of sleep every day in order to suppress production of melatonin by the pineal gland until after the onset of sleep.
In either of the above embodiments of the method, the adverse effects of melatonin on the production of growth hormone in an animal, such as a human, are blocked until after the early stage of nocturnal sleep so that the stimulation of the body's immune response to disease by growth hormone is increased. When melatonin production is suppressed or its effects offset by greater amounts of growth hormone during approximately the first 90 minutes of sleep, the animal's immune response to disease is optimized.
Description of the Preferred Embodiments
In the preferred embodiments of the method of the present invention, the effective amount of growth hormone in the animal's body during the early stage of nocturnal sleep is increased by blocking the adverse effects of melatonin on growth hormone production by either the administration of a safe and effective amount of a substance or by the exposure of the animal to bright light for an effective period of time.
Although a variety of substances can be used to block the adverse effects of melatonin, the presently preferred substances are beta-adrenergic antagonists.
These substances are believed to act by blocking receptors in the pineal gland from receiving neural signals from the eyes. By blocking these neural signals the beta-adrenergic antagonists prevent the synthesis of melatonin in the pineal gland.
Representative of the beta-adrenergic antagonists which can be used are propranolol hydrochloride and atenolol. Both of these products can be administered orally about one to seven hours prior to the onset of nocturnal sleep. Atenolol is administered in oral dosages of from 0.1 mg to 50 mg. The oral dosage for propranolol is from 0.1 mg to 60 mg.
The production of melatonin is believed to be suppressed by the beta-adrenergic blockers for sufficient time to allow optimal production of growth hormone in the pituitary gland. As a result, the optimal production of growth hormone yields optimum stimulation of the immune system resulting in optimal immune response.
Another type of compound that can be used to block the adverse effects of melatonin is N-acetyltryptamine 2benzyl-N-acetyltryptamine (Luzindole). It is believed to suppress melatonin by antagonizing melatonin receptors in the body. By antagonizing these receptors, the compound prevents melatonin from acting on the pituitary gland and thus preventing melatonin's suppression of growth hormone. The oral dosage for Luzindole is 200 mg to 1000 mg.
Other substances that block the adverse effects of melatonin can also be used. For example, estradiol and progesterone have also been shown to suppress melatonin in the body.
The administration of a substance that blocks the adverse effects of melatonin is continued every day before sunset. The treatment is continued until all evidence of the disease is gone from the body.
In another preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention the adverse effects of melatonin in the animal are blocked by exposing the animal to a bright light (1,500 Lux to about 12,000 Lux) for effective intermittent periods of time from sunset to the onset of the early stage of nocturnal sleep to optimize the production of growth hormone resulting in optimal immune response.
In the preferred embodiment of the method of the invention in which the effective amount of growth hormone in the animal's body is directly increased, growth hormone is administered to the animal shortly before the onset of the first stage of nocturnal sleep.
The growth hormone is administered orally in dosages of 1 mg to 20 mg before the onset of sleep each day so that it is absorbed by the body within 30 to 60 minutes after the onset of sleep.
The growth hormone supplements the body's own production of growth hormone during the first stage of nocturnal sleep when the pituitary gland is producing the greatest quantity of the hormone. The presence of the supplemental growth hormone increases the total growth hormone level above the normal level produced by the body, thus resulting in an increased stimulation of the immune response.
In still another embodiment, the effective amount of growth hormone is increased by administering to the animal a substance that stimulates growth hormone production during the early stage of nocturnal sleep.
Representative of such substances are growth hormone releasing factor and analogs of growth hormone releasing factor. Growth hormone releasing factor is administered orally before the onset of sleep every day in dosages of 0.1 mg to 100 mg.
The growth hormone production stimulating substance is given to the patient shortly before the onset of sleep each day. The substance is given at a time that will allow the body to absorb it and synthesize additional growth hormone within approximately 30 to 60 minutes of the onset of sleep.
The growth hormone stimulating substance may act by offsetting the adverse effects of melatonin on growth hormone production. The substance can also be used to raise the growth hormone level above the level normally produced in the body. Optimal production of growth hormone can then be achieved during approximately the first 90 minutes of sleep each day. This results in optimal stimulation of the immune system and optimal immune response.
With any of the above described embodiments of the method of the present invention, additional measures can be taken to help optimize the immune response in the animal: (1) The patient can be instructed not to nap. This will
result in making the onset of sleep come more easily
and quickly when the patient goes to bed.
(2) The patient can be instructed not to eat or drink
anything (except water) for several hours before
going to bed. Sugar has been shown to suppress
growth hormone. By not eating or drinking for
several hours, all sugar in the body will be
metabolized before the onset of sleep.
(3) The patient can be taken off all medications that
have a suppressant effect on growth hormone or the
immune system.
(4) The patient can be taken off all medication during
the treatment. There may be some unknown
suppressant effects of the medications the patient
is taking. These could prevent optimizing the
intended immune response.
(5) The patient can be given vitamin supplements.
Studies have shown that some vitamins may help
stimulate immune response.
(6) The patient can be instructed to go to bed at the
same time every night. This in combination with the
suppression of melatonin can help entrain the body
to delay melatonin production until after the onset
of sleep.
The methods described with or without the additional measures can be continued beyond the time disease is gone from the body. By extending the treatment, the immune response may be improved to prevent future recurrences of the disease. The methods also can be combined with one or more of the other described treatment procedures to increase immune response.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the method of the present invention can also be used to strengthen the body's immune response to prevent the occurrence of disease.
Example 1
A white, male patient, age 20, is exposed to the bright light (10,000 Lux) of a light fixture (Natural
Illuminator 10,000 Model) from the Hughes Lighting
Technologics Company for intermittent periods of time (of about 15 minutes to 60 minutes each) between sunset and the onset of sleep each night for 30 days. At the end of that time an analysis shows that the patient's immune system has been stimulated.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a number of modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Therefore, it is intended that the invention only be limited by the claims.