Should Human Growth Hormone Be Prescribed to the Elderly?

Human Growth Hormones basically promote linear growth in prepubertal children. HGH acts on the liver and other tissues to stimulate the production of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I, also known as somatomedin C), which is responsible for the growth-promoting effects of HGH and which acts as an overall indicator of growth hormone secretion.

Decreased HGH production and decreased muscle mass in healthy elderly subjects, and possibly in adults with growth hormone deficiency, have led to attempts to determine whether HGH administration will benefit them. In an experiment involving 61- to 81-year-old men with HGH levels below healthy young men after six months it showed that they had higher body mass. However, when the same experiment was performed on healthy men with the right level of HGH, there was not much fat difference in muscle ratio but their insulin level increased.

In addition there are many side effects involving HGH. HGH can affect the metabolism of carbohydrates (producing hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance, and diabetes mellitus), the musculoskeletal system (producing arthritis and arthralgia), and the cardiovascular system (causing hypertension, edema, and congestive heart failure), as exemplified by acromegaly. Therefore, before using growth hormone in healthy adults it needs to be further studied and many questions must be answered first.

If growth hormone is given to healthy older adults with reduced hormone production, when will the administration begin? If the purpose is to reverse the decline in growth hormone secretion that occurs with aging, then treatment should begin in the fourth decade of life in some people. If given, how long should it take? What is the optimal dose and frequency of administration? Does long-term treatment with growth hormone improve muscle function?

With many unanswered questions and many confirmed side effects, it seems that the ratio of benefits to benefits continues to support further testing because the lives of many people with aging can be affected by any HGH treatment that is found to be inadequate in testing and research. Logically, HGH in the elderly should be avoided for now, especially if the elderly are healthy and strong.

In fact, it is still unclear if the body naturally slows down HGH production for legitimate, positive reasons. This is because some experiments involving laboratory mice have shown that the increase in HGH-producing mice decreases with their lifespan compared with the lifespan of mice not taking any HGH.

With this in mind, the Human Growth Hormone for parents is still a question mark. Much research still needs to be done to determine all the answers to all the questions that have been raised before. Only when they respond positively should HGH be given to parents.

Should Human Growth Hormone Be Prescribed to the Elderly?


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