Human Growth Hormone Not Recommended as Antiaging Treatment

The harms of human growth hormone outweigh any benefit when used in healthy elderly individuals, according to a systematic review of randomized controlled trials published in the January 2007 Annals of Internal Medicine. This finding is a clear indication that no one should use human growth hormone to slow the aging process.

The generic name of human growth hormone is somatropin. It is sold under a number of brand names in the U.S., including GENOTROPIN, HUMATROPE, and NUTROPIN. Somatropin is an injection drug that is only approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in adults with growth hormone deficiency.

Human growth hormone is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to slow or stop the natural effects of aging. Actually, the sale or promotion of this drug to treat aging is illegal. Despite this fact, using human growth hormone to “treat” aging has grown into a multimillion-dollar industry.

The study

The review’s authors analyzed 31 randomized, controlled trials that compared growth hormone treatment with one of three options: no growth hormone treatment or growth hormone and lifestyle interventions; exercise with or without diet; or lifestyle interventions alone. In these trials, growth hormone was given to healthy people for at least two weeks. There were 220 people who received growth hormone in various studies; the average age of study participants was 69 years.

Because the authors wanted to evaluate the effect of growth hormone in healthy people, trials that tested growth hormone for a specific disease were excluded from the review.

The authors found some small changes in body composition when examining the studies: overall fat mass decreased, overall lean body mass increased and body size did not change in patients treated with the growth hormone. On the negative side, those given growth hormone were significantly more likely to experience fluid retention, painful joints, carpal tunnel syndrome and, in men, excessive breast development. Those receiving growth hormone were also more likely to experience the onset of diabetes and other problems with blood sugar.

The table accompanying this article summarizes the percentages of side effects reported in the studies for those who were given growth hormone and those who did not receive the drug.

The full text of the review is available on the Annals of Internal Medicine Web site at http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/146/2/104.

A case of “disease-mongering” with normal aging

The authors of the review identified no evidence that growth hormone prolongs life. But if you are a drug company, why should a small problem like lack of effectiveness impede drug sales?  In its Oct. 26, 2005, issue, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) addressed the marketing and sales of growth hormone as an antiaging treatment. Selling growth hormone on the Internet and through antiaging clinics  is sometimes called “antiaging,” “regenerative,” “longevity,” or “age management” medicine.

The JAMA article notes that despite government hearings warning of deceptive promotional claims by the antiaging industry and the danger to the health and pocketbooks of consumers (growth hormone is extremely expensive), the sale and use of growth hormone for antiaging is now common. 

Turning of all aspects of a normal life into a disease (medicalization) has long been recognized as a profitable pursuit of unscrupulous drug manufacturers, physicians, and pharmacists. In 1992, author Lynn Payer defined expanding the boundaries of an illness for economic self interest as “disease mongering.” The antiaging industry has established a new low in disease mongering by turning the normal aging process into a disease that can be treated by growth hormone.

What You Can Do
  
You should not use growth hormone for aging or age-related conditions. There is very little evidence of any benefit and there is substantial evidence that the drug is dangerous.