Is Human Growth Hormone Therapy the Key to Anti-Aging? : PreRetirementLife

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Is Human Growth Hormone Therapy the Key to Anti-Aging?

It's untested, possibly carcinogenic, and illegal in some cases, and yet thousands praise its benefits.

One of the reasons our bodies grow as we move through childhood and adolescence is that our pituitary gland secrets human growth hormone (HGH), a substance that makes us taller, more muscular, and more robust. Eventually HGH levels off, but what if we could continue to add it to our bodies as we age? Could we stay younger longer?

What once was a pipe dream became a reality when HGH was first synthesized in labs in the early 1980s. In 1985, the FDA approved it for use in helping underdeveloped children grow taller. Then in 1990, the New England Journal of Medicine published a much-discussed study showing that a dozen men had indeed seen great benefits from a course of HGH therapy. The race to the fountain of youth was on.

TIGHT RULES
But the FDA has never approved HGH as an anti-aging therapy, and serious testing on its long-term effects in that kind of scenario has never been done. Because HGH stimulates cell growth, there's concern that it could give cancerous cells the kick start they need to become malignant that much faster.

Today, you can get HGH injections legally only if you prove through blood testing that your levels of the hormone are abnormally low. Insurance rarely covers HGH outside that tightly defined window, but plenty of doctors are willing to put patients on a $1,500 to $2,000 per month regimen of shots to try to slow the aging process. In fact, one recent study says that 30 percent of all HGH prescriptions today are for use outside the FDA's strictures. (Selling HGH without a prescription can be punished with five years in prison or a $250,000 fine.)

Today the Internet is full of testimonials of people who claim to have found their anti-aging answer in HGH, although it's interesting to note that HGH was found in the corpse of Anna Nicole Smith and in Sylvester Stallone's luggage when he was arrested in Australia in March, and it's part of the controversy surrounding home run king Bobby Bonds. Not exactly elite company.

AVOID HGH ALTERNATIVES
Given the questionable legality of HGH injections outside of the FDA's rules, marketers now often trumpet "bio-identical" hormones made from plants or herbs. Often available in pill form, which doctors point out could never successfully deliver HGH to the bloodstream, this is a multi-million business of quackery, best to be avoided at all costs, no matter how many pop-up ads you see online.

The only way to consider getting involved with HGH is to do blood testing with a doctor you trust to see what your hormone levels are and then proceed with great caution, understanding first the risks that may be involved.

Staying Young Secret of the Week

> December 14, 2007