It has been shown that diminished secretion of growth hormone is responsible in part for the decrease of lean body mass, the expansion of adipose-tissue mass and the thinning of the skin that occurs in old age. (N Engl J Med 1990; 323:1-6.)
Increasing this hormone can slow down this natural aging process.
Growth hormone replacement in deficient adults with pituitary disease (i.e stunted growth) is expensive, costing between $7,500 and $10,000 yearly.
It has been suggested that one third of GH prescriptions are for “off label” uses. So called ‘Anti Aging Doctors’ are prescribing growth hormone as the Anti- Aging Wonder Drug and raking in the profits.
Whilst it is hugely profitable for the doctors who prescribe and very expensive for the consumer, how effective is this wonder drug on aging? Lets take a look…
A recent double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 27 women and 34 men, 68 to 88 years of age, who were given growth hormone or placebo for 6.5 months confirmed the effects of growth hormone on body composition; there was no change in muscle strength or maximal oxygen uptake during exercise in either group.1
This study corroborated the findings of a study by Papadakis et al. involving 52 healthy men, 70 to 85 years of age, who were given placebo or growth hormone for six months.2
Not mentioned on the “antiaging” Web sites is a study of 18 healthy men, 65 to 82 years of age, who underwent progressive strength training for 14 weeks, followed by an additional 10 weeks of strength training plus either growth hormone or placebo.3 In that study, resistance exercise training increased muscle strength significantly; the addition of growth hormone did not result in any further improvement.
Whilst we know for sure that resistance training improves muscle strength and function, this is a fact. It is evident that there is no current “magic-bullet” drug that prevents or reverses aging.
Antiaging therapy with growth hormone has not yet been proven effective according to objective outcome criteria. The take home message is that going to the gym is both more beneficial and certainly cheaper than growth hormone therapy.
The Join JJ Program was designed to maximise GH release NATURALLY to aid in preserving muscle, reducing body fat and slowing the thinning of the skin that occurs in old age. This is all without massive expense of ineffective drugs or worse still, the fake supplement market for synthetic growth hormone releasers.
Reference:
Blackman MR, Sorkin JD, Munzer T, et al. Growth hormone and sex steroid administration in healthy aged women and men: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2002;288:2282-2292.
Papadakis MA, Grady D, Black D, et al. Growth hormone replacement in older men improves body composition but not functional ability. Ann Intern Med 1996;124:708-716.
Taaffe DR, Pruitt L, Reim J, et al. Effect of recombinant human growth hormone on the muscle strength response to resistance exercise in elderly men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1994;79:1361-1366.
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