Flurbiprofen(Grow Taller by manipulating Lymphocyte count)

 This is a compliment to the analysis by Natural Height Growth on Flurbiprofen.

What's interesting about Flurbiprofen is that usually things that increase growth plate height as a result of inhibiting cartilage or bone degraders usually decrease growth such as MMP13 inhibitors.

My hypothesis is that it alters bone growth by inhibiting lymphocyte(immune cell type) activity.  There needs to be an equilibrium amount of lymphocyte activity as confirmed by the highest dose of Flurbiprofen decreasing longitudinal bone growth.  Based on whether the amount of lymphocytes you have is above or below equilibrium taking Flurbiprofen will either increase or decrease your height.

Lymphocytes can be measured on a blood sample.  Unfortunately, we don't know the optimal lymphocyte count for maximizing height growth so we don't know what the target goal would be with Flurbiprofen.

Flurbiprofen-induced stimulation of periosteal bone formation and inhibition of bone resorption in older rats.

"The skeletal effects of flurbiprofen (Fb), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, was studied by histomorphometry in 9-month-old retired female breeder, Sprague-Dawley rats. Flurbiprofen was given subcutaneously at 0, 0.2, 0.1, 0.5, 2.5, or 5 mg/kg/d for 21 days. Flurbiprofen had no effect on longitudinal growth, but stimulated radial growth (+200%){maybe this could give a little skull and calcaneus height?} over controls. In the tibial shaft, Fb stimulated the mineral apposition rate (+25%), mineral bone formation rate (+100%), and periosteal labeling length (+64%) at the 2.5 and 5.0 mg Fb/kg dose levels, and had no effect on marrow cavity size compared to controls. However, these changes were insufficient to increase cortical bone mass. In the proximal tibial metaphysis, Fb suppressed osteoclasts/mm2 of metaphyseal tissue (-47%), osteoclasts/mm of bone surface (-46%), and the osteoclast/osteoblast ratio (-50%), increased the calcified cartilage core population (+100%), and had no effect on osteoblast numbers at all dose levels{osteoclasts may be good for height during development and may allow for the formation of cartilage canals to form new growth plates}. There was an insignificant increase in metaphyseal cancellous bone mass. Flurbiprofen-stimulated periosteal bone growth was due to direct stimulation of osteoblast recruitment and activity independent of longitudinal bone growth."

"retired female breeder, Sprague-Dawley rat, with a 5 mcm/day longitudinal growth rate of the proximal tibia and a 3.6 mcm/day periosteal bone apposition rate of the tibia) shaft ."<-I'm not sure what mcm is relative to units of measurement but 9 month old rats are still growing.

"increased longitudinal bone growth and growth plate thickness in the weanling rat [who took flurbiprofen], while the size of the hypertrophic cells and the cartilage cell production rate did not differ from the controls ."

In older rats, there was an increase in the size of the calcified cartilage core.

Flurbiprofen enhances growth and cancellous and cortical bone accumulation in rapidly growing long bones.

"The effects of flurbiprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, on bone growth was studied by static and dynamic histomorphometry in immature (28 days old) male Sprague-Dawley rats. Flurbiprofen at 0, 0.02, 0.1, 0.5 or 2.5 mg/kg/d doses was given subcutaneously daily for 21 days. The 0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg/d doses were most effective in stimulating longitudinal and radial bone growth and enhancing the accumulation of cancellous and cortical bone{so it seems there is an equilibrium quantity}. Proximal tibial longitudinal bone growth rate, growth plate thickness, and periosteal bone formation rate were increased 30-40%, while cortical bone (tibial shaft) and cancellous bone (proximal tibial metaphysis) accumulated 12% and 90% more bone than controls, respectively. Enhanced accumulation of cortical bone was attributed to stimulated periosteal bone formation without accompanying marrow cavity enlargement. Enhanced accumulation of cancellous hard tissue was postulated to be due to reduced trabecular bone resorption and no effect on bone formation. The cell counts support these conclusions. There was a decrease in osteoclast numbers (-62 to -70%), an insignificant decrease in osteoblast numbers (-5 to -30%) per mm of bone surface and a decrease in osteoclast to osteoblast ratio (-35 to -56%). The findings presented are compatible with the conclusion that flurbiprofen, induced changes in rapidly growing long bones by reducing osteoclast activity and recruitment, stimulating longitudinal and radial growth, increasing the cortical bone mass by stimulated periosteal bone growth and depressed endosteal resorption, and increasing cancellous bone mass by depressed trabecular bone resorption without affecting bone formation."

The increase in longitudinal growth was fairly significant from about 165 mcm/day to 204 mcm/day for 0.5mg/d group.  The longitudinal growth was virtually the same from 0.1mg/d to 0.5mg/d.  The percentage of increase of growth plate height was approximately the same as the increase in longitudinal growth about 25%.  The trends of maximal chondrocyte hypertrophy size and rate of chondrocyte proliferation were less consistent and dramatic.  Longitudinal growth was less at 2.5mg per day than control 159 mcm/day to 165 mcm/day.

Here's a drug that's sort of the inverse to Flubiprofen:

Effects of phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA-P) on bone of the growing rat.

"The effects of phytohemagglutinin-P, (PHA-P), a mitogen known to selectively stimulate cells of hematogenous or lymphoid monocytic origin, 25 and 50 mg/kg/day administered for 15 days on proximal tibiae of growing male Sprague-Dawley rats, were studied. The general effect of PHA-P was to decrease the amount of cartilage, hard tissue, and longitudinal growth in the proximal tibial metaphysis. A decrease in longitudinal bone growth, in the number of chondrocytes, in the thickness of cartilage plate, in the metaphyseal mass of hard tissue, in the percentage of calcified cartilage core, and in the number of osteoblasts per mm of bone surface was observed. Additionally, PHA-P increased the number of osteoclasts, the number of labeled osteoclastic nuclei, and the average number of nuclei per osteoclast. There was a significant decrease in the time to the first appearance of labeled osteoclastic nuclei as the dose of PHA-P increased. Thus, PHA-P treatment leads to the dominance of osteoclastic over chondroblastic and osteoblastic activity and results in a hard tissue deficit in a growing skeleton. The data indicate that PHA-P administration selectively increases osteoclast numbers by elevating osteoclastic progenitor cell proliferation and enhancing their fusion and differentiation to osteoclasts."

So PHA-P decreases osteoblasts and increases the number of osteoclasts and decreases longitudinal bone growth.  PHA-P is part of the red kidney bean.  PHA-P stimulates proliferation of lymphocytes.

According to Flurbiprofen and immunosuppression of Trypanosoma brucei infection in the goat., Flurbiprofen inhibits T-lymphocytes.

This study provides a possibly model for how lymphocytes may affect longitudinal bone growth:

Growth plate compressions and altered hematopoiesis in collagen X null mice.

"A variable skeleto-hematopoietic phenotype was observed in collagen X null mice which mirrored the defects in transgenic (Tg) mice with dominant interference collagen X mutations. Specifically, perinatal lethality was seen in approximately 10.8% of null mutants at week three after birth, and in another subset by 12 wk. In perinatal lethal mutants, growth plates were compressed, trabecular bone reduced, and hematopoietic aplasia and erythrocyte-filled vascular sinusoids were apparent in marrows. Lymphatic organs, reduced to approximately 80% that of controls, displayed altered architecture and lymphocyte content. In thymuses, a paucity of cortical CD3(+)/CD4(+)/CD8(+) lymphocytes was consistent with the marrow's inability to replenish maturing T cells. In spleens, an unaltered T cell distribution was coupled with diffuse staining for IgD(+)/B220(+) B cells, whose reduction was prominent in poorly organized lymphatic nodules. Disorderly arrays of splenic macrophages surrounding periarteriolar lymphatic sheaths and a red pulp depletion further complemented the Tg perinatal lethal phenotype. Moreover, subtle growth plate compressions and hematopoietic changes were seen in all null mice{this is inconsistent with the larger growth plates seen in flurbiprofen treated mice}."

So either lymphocytes are not the cause of flurbiprofen elevated height growth or there is an equilibrium quantity of lymphocytes for optimal height growth(supported by there being an optimal dosage of flurbiprofen).

Inflammatory cytokines may have effects like lymphocytes.

Interleukin-6 modulates trabecular and endochondral bone turnover in the nude mouse by stimulating osteoclast differentiation.

"We have chosen the immunologically compromised athymic mouse, which demonstrate sclerotic features in its trabecular bone, as the animal model for assessment of possible modulation effects of interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) on bone and cartilage metabolism. The cytokines were applied by daily subcutaneous injections for 3 consecutive days. Histomorphometry, measuring epiphyseal trabecular bone volume (ETBV), metaphyseal trabecular bone volume (MTBV), and the width of the growth plate, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) histochemistry were used to assess parameters of bone turnover in the proximal tibia. IL-6, but not IL-1alpha, reduced ETBV and MTBV. Both IL-6 and IL-1alpha reduced the width of the growth plate. IL-6, but not IL-1alpha, increased the number of chondroclasts and osteoclasts in the primary spongiosa of the proximal tibia, as well as the number of nuclei. The resultant bone resembled that of the wild-type mouse. The results point to IL-6 as a possible regulator of bone turnover in vivo. It is suggested that the athymic mouse has a deficiency somewhere in the cascade of events leading to the production of IL-6 or, alternatively, that IL-6 replaces other factors that are supplied by T lymphocytes directly or indirectly. As T lymphocytes interact with B lymphocytes it is suggested that the athymic mouse might be appropriate for studying the in vivo effects of the immune system on normal bone metabolism."

"hematopoietic cells and lymphocytes residing in the bone marrow may have effects on bone, especially in the pathological state."

On lymphocytes affecting height:

Growth patterns in pubertal HIV-infected adolescents and their correlation with cytokines, IGF-1, IGFBP-1, and IGFBP-3.

"This study aims to describe the final adult height (FAH) and pubertal growth patterns in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adolescents and to compare these to an age-matched population of seroreverting HIV-exposed, uninfected (HEU) adolescents. It further aims to evaluate the interplay of proinflammatory cytokines with insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3), and IGFBP-1 during the pubertal growth spurt. Methods: HIV-infected and HEU adolescents who had achieved FAH were evaluated. Auxologic data, viral load, CD4+ T-lymphocyte (CD4) count, and the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy were obtained via a retrospective chart review. Serum interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-3, and IGF-1 were assessed. The mean FAH standard deviation score for the HIV-infected group was -0.78 (±1.1) compared to 0.05 (±0.78) for the HEU{so being exposed to HIV but not being infected slightly increased height}. There was a positive correlation between CD4 count and FAH{But this correlation occur indefinately}. The mean age and magnitude of peak growth velocity (GV) was within normal limits. IL-1α, IL-6, TNF-α, IGFBP-3, and IGF-1 were not significantly correlated with HIV RNA or height. IGFBP-1 was detectable in 100% of poorly controlled HIV-infected patients and 25% of the HEU cohort. The FAH of HIV-infected patients was significantly shorter than that of HEU patients, and it positively correlated with CD4 count. Our cohort demonstrated normal timing and magnitude of peak GV during puberty."

Adult Height Achieved was linearly correlated to CD4+ lymphocyte count to 2000.