Growth Hormone Ineffective for Anti-Aging, Studies Say

Jan. 16, 2007 — -- In the quest for youth, many look to human growth hormone (HGH) as a miracle elixir.

Numerous books have touted its benefits as an anti-aging therapy, and a casual Internet search brings up dozens of sites pointing to its efficacy at staving off age-related changes in the body.

However, a recent review of published studies suggests that HGH provides few of the touted benefits for adults who are healthy. Worse, the side effects could mean that regular users are putting their health in jeopardy.

The review is published in the current issue of the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

"The findings suggest that if someone is taking growth hormone to prevent or reverse aging, they should give it a second thought," said lead researcher Dr. Hau Liu of Stanford University.

"This review suggests that there are modest or even minimal benefits associated with growth hormone, and HGH could be associated with significant side effects, including a trend toward diabetes and pre-diabetic conditions."

Other medical experts who use HGH in their practices say the review sends an important message to consumers about the potential dangers of unapproved use of the hormone.

"This review doesn't tell any of us who work in the field anything at all new," said Dr. Mary Lee Vance, professor of medicine at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center in Charlottesville. "But I think it is particularly important for those in the medical community and anyone else."

The very fact that HGH is a problem at all may be surprising to some. But today, it is illegal to distribute HGH as an anti-aging therapy in the United States.

Despite this, previous research has estimated that between 20,000 and 30,000 healthy American adults used growth hormone shots as an anti-aging therapy in 2004.

It is a situation that some say amounts to abuse of an otherwise useful therapy.

"I'm not against the use of growth hormone," Vance said. "I prescribe a lot of human growth hormone myself, but for people who are deficient in it because of disease."