• Introduction

For many years the hCG program for weight loss enjoyed worldwide popularity due to the excellent obtained results . Daily administration of 125 IU of hCG plus a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) Diet rapidly decreased body weight without any side effects. Hundreds of thousands of patients benefited from this safe and effective weight reduction program.

Obesity has now reached worldwide proportions, and society faces a problem that will cause more suffering, disease and death than any other plague over the last three hundred years. The hCG method may well be a safe and effective alternative for treating those millions of individuals suffering obesity.

hCG is one of the few drugs of natural origin that, fortunately, still remain in the current Pharmacopoeia. For unknown reasons, most of the research performed on its therapeutic potential deals with investigations related to testicles or ovaries, with comparatively few investigations performed in other clinical fields.

Secreted by the placenta, the presence of hCG in the urine of pregnant women was first reported by Ascheim and Zondek in 1927. Since then, thousands of articles have been published about the effect of hCG on gonads (testicles or ovaries), but comparatively a small number of these have investigated its vast therapeutic potential on diseases ranging from Kaposi sarcoma,to asthma, psychoses, artheriopaties, thalassemia, osteopenia, glaucoma, cancer. hCG proved to be effective in the above-mentioned conditions, but insufficient data were gathered to conclusively determine its clinical utility.

To complicate the situation even more, the use of hCG in the treatment of obesity has been the subject of controversy. The results of a series of studies were interpreted to mean that hCG should not be used for the treatment of obesity, notwithstanding reports from many patients who had been treated with the hCG protocol referred they were completely satisfied with the method and the obtained results (See Opinions).

The objective of The International Society for Alternative Uses of human Choriogonadotropin (ISAUC)  is to create a climate of favorable opinion aimed at bringing hCG back into the scientific consideration of Researchers and the public.

You can join us by selecting from several options (see below). If you are interested, send us your suggestions and comments to improve our task.

• History

The hCG program for obesity treatment was published for the first time in Letters to the Editor, in The Lancet, a reputable medical journal, by the late Dr. ATW Simeons, a British born Physician, graduated in Germany and residing in Rome (Italy), back as far as 1954.

Dr. ATW Simeons

Soon after the publication of this information, many healthcare professionals rushed to Dr Simeons¹ Clinic to learn the protocol at first hand. Dr. Simeons received an unmanageable number of requests, a situation that finally forced him to write a book: Pounds and Inches: A new approach to obesity, which was privately published.

For years after, the so-called "Fat-Clinics" mushroomed everywhere. Unfortunately, the basic protocol was (in some cases) greatly modified, altering the dietary composition, the hCG administration schedule and the dosage. Under these circumstances, results obtained were not as expected.

Simultaneously, a series of double-blind studies were published. Some of them concluded that weight loss with or without hCG was equal, that hCG had no effect on fat mobilization, appetite or sense of hunger, or on body fat distribution.

However, another series of recent Investigations demonstrated that hCG administration effectively decreased subcutaneous body fat from conspicuous fat depots more efficiently than a placebo , and patients felt in excellent mood throughout the treatment ( http://indexmedico.com )

The controversy aroused in 1974 was finally solved by an regulation which, based on some of the unfavorable but questionable studies, forced pharmaceutical firms to state in hCG leaflets of information that hCG should not be used to treat obesity, because it was not more effective than a placebo. Since 1974,only two review reports were published. Except for our study, no new research has been done.

However, the hCG protocol for weight loss continued to be applied by some MD's who continued to follow the method in their daily practice.

• The nature of hCG

hCG is a glycoproteic substance, which we believe should not be called a hormone, since it does not fulfils the concept of a hormone's basic postulates.

The term "hormone" means in Greek "I act through distance". It was coined in 1921 to describe a series of substances which are secreted from an organ, or gland, and exert their actions beyond the producing organ

For example: insulin fulfils the concept of a hormone, because it is secreted by the pancreas, and exerts its action everywhere in the organism. The concept is equally valid for estrogens, progesterone, thyroid hormones, adrenal hormones.

The term hCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. The term Human implies that hCG should be differentiated from other Chorionic Gonadotropin substances, since others had already been identified, e.g. a Rat Chorionic Gonadotrophin, and a Monkey Chorionic Gonadotrophin.

The word Chorionic was added to its identification because when it was discovered by Ascheim and Zondek in the urine of pregnant women, it was observed that it was secreted by the chorion of the placenta (part of the anatomic structure).

The term Gonadotrophin was assigned because when the substance was injected into young female experimental animals, it provoked the maturation of oocytes, causing ovulation. hCG also accelerated the maturation of testicles in male experimental animals, but never beyond physiological levels.

Subsequent Investigations demonstrated that the term hCG can be quite misleading: hCG is not only produced by the placenta, but also by nearly all normal human tissues, male or female, pregnant or not. Plants and bacteria also synthesize hCG.

hCG has been used medically for many purposes, including asthma, gastritis, neurosis, heart damage, hyperlipemias, hypercholesterolemia, eczemas, glaucoma, alcoholism, and more recently a cancer-like tumor appearing in AIDS patients, named Kaposi sarcoma (see above).

• The hCG method for obesity treatment

As originally proposed by Dr. ATW Simeons, the method consisted of the daily administration (by intramuscular injection) of 125 IU of hCG plus a specific and quite detailed Very Low Hypocaloric Diet ( furnishing approximately 500 Kcal./day).

According to Dr. Simeons, patients lost about 1 pound daily, modified their body contour, and felt in excellent mood throughout the treatment period.

Dr. Simeons postulated four basic conclusions from his method.

1. Patients under hCG lost the same amount of weight as dieting individuals (without the medication), but under hCG fat loss was mainly accomplished at the expense of fat and not lean mass (Dr. Belluscio recently corroborated this finding. See: http://hcgobesity.org )

2. hCG-treated subjects felt in excellent spirits throughout the treatment (Dr. Belluscio recently corroborated this finding. See: http://hcgobesity.org )

3. Diet composition was of the utmost importance: Dr. Simeons insisted that any deviation from the standard protocol might render unfavourable results.

4. As a consequence of this specific fat mass mobilization, body contour showed a tendency to modelate (change body configuration). (Dr.Belluscio recently corroborated this finding. See: http://hcgobesity.org )

• Biases, prejudices, interests?

We still do not know what is at stake regarding the subject of hCG and obesity. Also, it causes concerns to us that well-trained and reputable healthcare professionals may sustain that hCG can cause cancer, hirsutism, water retention and allergic reactions.

But still more amazing is the fact that pharmaceutical firms must include in their hCG information leaflets that hCG has to be held accountable for all these side effects.

If hCG is indeed responsible for all those side-effects, pregnancy should be considered a high-risk condition, since hCG is produced in enormous amounts during pregnancy (up to 1,000,000 IU daily). The logical conclusion is that many pregnant women should become hirsute, develop cancer, or be seriously edematized.

hCG is a safe substance. When used properly, and in the amounts indicated, it has no side effects and provides no unfavorable results. The vast majority of reported complications are related to the simultaneous overuse of hCG and hMG (Human Menopausal Gonadotrophin) to provoke superovulation in infertility cases.

• What do treated patients have to say?

What can we do to help others?

ISAUC is a not-for-profit Organization, aimed at the creation of a climate of opinion which will stir up interest, facilitate research projects and share experiences on the hCG method throughout the world. Patients and Healthcare Professionals are welcome to participate.

Help to spread this information to your friends, neighbors and whoever you consider might be interested, and stimulate the interest to participate as volunteers in Research studies .

We encourage you to request any information through our Web address, or Email. We are at your complete disposal to respond to any inquiry on the method.

You can also apply for a Membership at our Foundation.

You may wish to register at our Database (click here), explaining your field of interest, specialty and location. Once registered you will be given the option to participate as a Researcher in ongoing studies, or we could assist you to organize your own Investigation Protocol. You could also attend our training courses.

Many thanks for your interest and cooperation

Dr. Daniel Belluscio
Project Director
The International Society for Alternative Uses of human Choriogonadotropin (ISAUC)

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