GROWTH HORMONE FOR OLDER MEN
Report #7223
Since blood levels of growth hormone drop with aging, some entrepreneurs promote that hormone to prevent the effects of aging. Others promote growth hormone to help men grow larger and stronger muscles.
Seven years ago, a study from the University of Wisconsin appeared to show that growth hormone makes older men more muscular, less fat and best of all more sexual. More recent reports show that growth hormone does none of these (1,2,3) and may even shorten their lives. Another recent study from the University of Washington shows that men who took growth hormone and lifted weights did not gain any benefit over men who just lifted weights (4).
On the other hand, another report shows that growth hormone increases blood levels of another hormone called insulin Growth factor-1 that may increase strength and small doses of growth hormone do decrease body fat and increase muscle size slightly (5). Taking large doses of growth hormone is associated with arthritis, fluid retention and a type of finger pain called carpal tunnel syndrome, but small doses are not. A report from the University of North Dakota (6) shows that mice/who are dwarfs because they lack growth hormone/ live one and a half times as long as mice that produce that hormone. Short men live 5 years longer than their taller countrymen and that smaller breeds of dogs and horses live longer also. So, all the information is not in. Scientists do not whether taking long-term growth hormone is safe or effective in preventing the effects of aging in older men.
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News
1) JAMA October 13, 1993 2) Clin Endocrinology Oct,93;39(4):417-425. 3) Taaffe DR, Jin IH, Vu TH, Hoffman AR, Marcus R. Lack of hte effect of recombinant
human growth hormone (GH) on muscle morphology and GH-insulin-like growth factor
expression in resistance trained elderly men. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and
Metabolism. 1996(Jan);81(1):421-425. (Growth hormone is produced by the same cells in your
brain that also produce two other hormones called prolactin and thyroid stimulating
hormone.) 4) KE Yarasheski, JA Campbell, WM Kohrt. Effect of resistance exercise and growth
hormone on bone density in older men. Clinical Endocrinology 47: 2 (AUG 1997):223-229.
Address KE Yarasheski, Washington Univ, Sch Med, Div Metab, Box 8127, 660 S Euclid Ave, St
Louis, MO 63110 USA. 5) CM Cuttica, L Castoldi, GP Gorrini, F Peluffo, G Delitala, P Filippa, G Fanciulli, M
Giusti. Effects of six-month administration of recombinant human growth hormone to healthy
elderly subjects. Aging - Clinical and Experimental Research. 9: 3(JUN 1997):193-197. 6) Brown-Borg H. Nature November, 1996
Reported 9/16/97; Checked 9/5/05