Growth hormone's risks outweigh its benefits.Human growth hormone human growth hormone (HGH): see growth hormone. has substantial risks and no functional benefits for healthy, elderly people, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a comprehensive review. Injections of the substance are an approved therapy in children and adults who have growth-hormone deficiency, a defect that can lead to short stature Short stature refers to a height of a human being which is below expected. Shortness is a vague term without a precise definition and with significant relativity to context. and other health problems. It's a valuable medicine for those individuals, says Hau Liu of Stanford University. But an estimated 30,000 generally healthy people in the United States, mostly elderly adults, take the hormone for its putative antiaging an·ti·ag·ing adj. Used to delay or lessen the effects of aging, especially on the skin. effects. Various organizations that promote growth hormone growth hormone or somatotropin (sōmăt'ətrō`pən), glycoprotein hormone released by the anterior pituitary gland that is necessary for normal skeletal growth in humans (see protein). for this purpose often cite a 1990 research finding that growth hormone promotes fat loss, muscle-mass increase, and maintenance of healthy skin. "Based on the evidence we reviewed, which includes the evidence [from 1990], we do not recommend growth hormone for antiaging," Liu says. He and his colleagues reviewed studies based on 19 separate trials that analyzed the hormone's effects on healthy adults. The 1990 study was the least rigorous, Liu says. In the clinical trials, volunteers who took growth hormone experienced significantly more swelling in joints and extremities, more carpal tunnel syndrome carpal tunnel syndrome: see repetitive stress injury. carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) Painful condition caused by repetitive stress to the wrist over time. , and more joint pain than did participants who received a placebo. On the other hand, hormone-treated volunteers lost 1.7 more kilograms of fat and gained 1.5 more kg of lean body mass, on average, compared with their peers. However, the researchers found no evidence that those changes reduced disability or disease.--B.H. |
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