Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Doctor Kim Mulvihill ReportingEver since Spanish Explorer Ponce De Leon went searching for the fountain of youth people have tried a lot of things to stop aging. Now new research debunks one controversial treatment.
Human growth hormone is very controversial as an anti-aging elixir. Users claim the treatment can prevent, even reverse aging from sagging skins to libidos. But new research out of Stanford University shows what's actually sagging is the evidence.
It's the unavoidable fact of life: age and gravity. One popular yet controversial anti-aging therapy is the use of human growth hormone.
Hau Liu, M.D., Stanford School of Medicine: "Human growth hormone has been widely promoted in the popular press through books as a magic bullet, as a fountain of youth"
And while the marketing and distribution of growth hormone as an anti-aging elixir is illegal, it's easy to buy on the web.
The customers are plenty. Many Americans, tens of thousands, believe if they inject growth hormone, it will ward off the woes of old age and rejuvenate their bodies and minds.
Dr. Liu: "We wanted to evaluate the validity of these claims by a review of the scientific literature."
Dr. Hau Liu is a research fellow in the division of endocrinology and the center for primary care and outcomes research at Stanford, Dr. Liu and his team reviewed every shred of scientific evidence on the effects of growth hormone on older, healthy adults. Their results
Dr. Liu: "Our conclusions are that growth hormone is not this magic bullet. is not the elixir of youth as some have suggested it be. And shouldn't be used for this purpose"
While growth hormone had some effect on modestly boosting lean muscle and minimally decreasing body fat, there were no changes in important clinical outcomes. Cholesterol levels, bone density and stamina did not improve. Research also revealed users had higher rates of joint pain, soft tissue swelling and more.
Dr. Liu: Men had higher levels of abnormal breast enlargement or development and we found a trend towards increased rates of diabetes or pre-diabetes so very little benefit but the potential for some very serious side effects" If you want to stay healthy as you get older, your best bet is a balanced diet and plenty of exercise. It's good for your body and it's good for your brain.
Q- So how much does this stuff cost? A- Anywhere from a few hundred bucks to thousands of dollars a month. Americans are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on something this study shows has no benefit.
Q- But what about weight loss? A- Their weight didn't change. People lost a minimal amount of fat and gained a minimal amount of lean muscle. You can do that by exercising without the risk the expense and with much bigger benefits.
