Monday, December 1, 2008

HGH for the Elderly: A "Fountain of Youth?"


Aging is a natural process that occurs in each and every human being. It is a natural part of life that is essentially inevitable. Despite this, people have been trying for years to try to impede the process of aging in an appearance to preserve their youth both mentally and physically. Various forms of plastic surgery such as facelifts, botox injections, and a number of other methods have been practiced by people of aging populations for many, many years.


However, relatively recently, doctors have found a much more effective, yet questionably harmful method of attempting to reverse the effects of aging. Various clinics across the country have started administering Human Growth Hormone (HGH) to older patients in search of a so-called "fountain of youth." According to an article written by the New York Times, "At around the age of 30, growth hormone levels begin to decline. By age 60, people can have half as much as they did at 30. Testosterone, in men, declines, too, and, in women, estrogen levels plummet after menopause. The hypothesis was that the effects of aging -- shriveling muscles, thinning bones, increased body fat, especially in the abdomen, a loss of energy and enthusiasm, might be linked to hormone deficiencies, and, in particular, a lack of growth hormone." Subjects who were administered HGH as well as testosterone were shown to have increased their lean muscle mass, increase their endurance levels, while simultaneously losing fat. In the same study, women who were given a combination of estrogen and HGH also gained muscle and lost several pounds of fat.


It must also be considered, however, that taking HGH and altering a person's natural hormone levels can have adverse side effects. These side effects include pre-diabetes or diabetes, aching joints and swollen tissues. The study of Human Growth Hormone is still a relatively new field of study. HGH is not yet approved by the FDA, nor should it ever be administered outside of a clinical setting. However, it does give some people as well as researchers hope in finding the hypothetical "fountain of youth" despite how unethical or unnatural it may be.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Athletes are switching to homeopathic oral sprays because they are legal for over the counter sales, add only a trace amount of growth hormone into the system, and they target the liver to produce more IGF-1. It's not HGH that brings the invigoration properties, it's an increase in IGF-1 that brings the performance enhancing results.