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Written by Steve Blechman and Thomas Fahey, EdD
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Thursday, 09 April 2009 |
 Researchers Blast Growth Hormone for Anti-aging
More than 30,000 Americans use growth hormone (GH) as an anti-aging therapy. The hormone reportedly increases lean mass, decreases fat, improves skin texture, strengthens connective tissue, boosts sex drive and improves the quality of life. Researchers from Stanford University, in a review of literature, criticized growth hormone supplementation for older adults. They examined 18 studies involving 220 overweight men and women, with an average age of 69. People lost an average of 5 pounds of fat and gained 5 pounds of lean body mass in 27 weeks, but noted no changes in bone density or blood fat levels. Growth hormone therapy has side effects such as swelling, joint pain, carpal tunnel syndrome (wrist numbness) and gynecomastia (breast enlargement). Some subjects developed insulin resistance and elevated blood sugar, which typically disappears after the first few months of treatment. This was a very negative, biased paper. They didn’t mention several very important studies and didn’t consider the cumulative benefits of GH therapy combined with exercise and diet. GH allows older adults to exercise harder and get greater benefits from exercise. The body composition changes were remarkable in older people, who usually experience decreases in lean mass and increases in body fat. Our interpretation of the literature is that growth hormone supplementation is viable and improves the quality of life in older adults. (Annals Internal Medicine, 146:104-115, 2007)
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