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A dose of youth?Date: 25.04.2007
Posted by: Anabolic Info Team United States
From Hollywood to the World Wide Web, human growth hormone is making headlines.
It's the latest claim to a fountain of youth, promising less fat, more muscle and better skin.
Celebrities Sylvester Stallone and Anna Nicole Smith have made headlines with it.
There's a buzz about human growth hormone and Internet spammers are hoping you'll hop on the bandwagon to grab some of the body-building miracle for yourself.
But just what is human growth hormone? Can it really make people look and feel younger? And is it a safe way to turn back the hands of time?
Local experts say the claims are hogwash and human growth hormone -- used for the wrong reason as a quick fix to fight fat and build muscle -- can have dangerous side effects.
Nicholas Theodorou of Palmer Township, a Lafayette College chemistry graduate, longtime powerlifter and owner of Nutritional Technologies, a natural sports supplement company, says hormones "are very powerful substances secreted by tissues and glands in the human body."
The hormones naturally produced in our bodies act in small amounts and are tightly controlled. Human growth hormone is made by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain and its main function is to make us grow. The hormone is most active during adolescence and its levels decline as we grow older. It affects muscle mass, skin tone and hair distribution, he says.
Around age 35, the pituitary gland slowly reduces the amount of hormone produced. "Some people believe that adds to the aging process," says Dr. Neil Blumenthal of Easton, chairman of the obstetrics and gynecology department at Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg and specialist in cosmetic medicine.
About 30 years ago, it was found the hormone could be harvested from humans and has since been created synthetically to treat medical conditions and diseases including forms of dwarfism in children whose pituitary glands don't function properly.
A study's impact
Theodorou points to a 1990 study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine which found other effects from the hormone. When given to a test group of men 61 to 81, lean body mass increased 8.8 percent and fatty tissue was reduced by 14.4 percent. There also were noted improvements in bone density and skin thickness.
That study, available on the journal's Web site, now includes an editor's note: "This article has been cited in potentially misleading e-mail advertisements."
"It didn't take long for actors and actresses to hear about it an anti-aging fountain of youth," Theodorou says. "It's just so easy to inject that into your butt. Is that tough to resist, or what?"
According to Associated Press reports, Stallone, the 60-year-old star of the "Rocky" and "Rambo" movie franchises, is facing stiff fines after trying to bring vials of human growth hormone into Australia.
Celebrity model Anna Nicole Smith was reportedly taking the hormone around the time of her death.
The FDA has not approved the use of human growth hormone for anti-aging and it is illegal in all sports. Even though it only works by injection, "there are people who use it and I'm sure there are doctors who prescribe it," Blumenthal says.
People who can't get a physician to prescribe it for them may be tempted to try Internet-marketed products in pill form to enhance the body's production of the hormone. That is a "dubious connection at best." Blumenthal says.
He thinks HGH is more commonly used and discussed in larger metropolitan areas, and his patients have not asked him for information about the hormone, he says.
The hormone has made an impact in Theodorou's world. Some body builders use hormone injections and steroids along with their training to increase the size and number of muscle cells. HGH use is a major concern in his sport, but since the hormone is already present in the body and is absorbed quickly it can't be detected by a lab test, Theodorou explains.
Blumenthal says the hormone sparked a muscle and bodybuilding trend when it was found HGH could help AIDS and HIV patients with muscle wasting. But while the hormone can build muscle mass, it can't build strength, he says.
The dangers
There is a price to pay for using HGH, both Theodorou and Blumenthal say. The body starts to shut down its own production of the hormone and side effects can include nausea, vomiting, headache, hardening of the arteries, nerve pain and diabetes.
Theodorou adds he has heard of potential cancer dangers from the hormone. While it fuels the increase of muscle cells, it also can be "high octane fuel for cancer cells," he says. "It's a time bomb effect."
Despite the well-known side effects, Blumenthal says people unfortunately are still willing to take the chance and go for the aesthetic benefits.
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