Growth Hormone - DrLam® - Body. Mind. Nutrition®

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Growth Hormone

Michael Lam, MD, MPH
www.DrLam.com

Introduction

Tremendous interest has emerged over recent years on the use of growth hormone to rejuvenate the body. The press is filled with stories of how Hollywood stars are using this drug as the latest "fountain of youth"? We seek to distinguish the facts from mere fiction.

Why Hormone Replacement?

One of the primary theories of aging is the neuroendocrine theory. This theory postulates that the signs of aging coincide with symptoms associated with the pausing of various organs. For example, pausing of the ovaries, found in all women, results in menopause and its many symptoms, include hot flashes. Similarly, the reduced level of testosterone secretion in men is responsible for the decrease of libido. Pausing of the pancreas leads to reduced insulin output and diabetes. Slowing of the thyroid gland can lead to hypothyroidism. Most major hormones decline with age after reaching a peak around mid twenties. These include DHEA, pregnenolone, melatonin, and growth hormone. The only hormone that increases with age is cortisol, also known as the "bad" hormone.

In particular, the growth hormone has generated worldwide interest. This is due to the amount of recent research, which shows that healthy aging adults can reverse the physical signs of aging.

What is Human Growth Hormone (hGH)?

Human Growth hormone (hGH) is a small protein molecule, which contains 191 amino acids in a single polypeptide chain. It is the most common hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland. The measurable level of hGH in our body decreases 14 percent every ten years into old age. This reduced level of secretion occurs over a period of time, which leads to aging. Daily secretion from the pituitary gland diminishes with age to the extent that a 60-year-old man secretes only 25 percent of the hGH secreted by a 20 year old.

hGH is actually released in pulses that take place during the day. Its release is especially prominent during the beginning phases of sleep. Secreted from the pituitary gland, these pulses are converted in the liver (within 20 minutes) to Insulin-like Growth Factor Type I (IGF-1). Although IGF-1 is not insulin, it acts like insulin as it promotes glucose transfer through cell membranes into the cell. More importantly, IGF-1 elicits most of the effects associated with the growth hormone. It is measured in the blood and is the surrogate marker of growth hormone in the body.

Use of hGH in Anti-Aging Medicine

Dr. Harvey Cushing first discovered the Growth Hormone in 1912. It was first isolated from human and monkey cadavers through glandular extraction in 1956. Two years later it was used to treat dwarfism in children by injection. Dr. Daniel Rudman conducted a landmark double blind study in 1989. The results of this study showed conclusively that age reversal was possible with the use of GH. This study included adult men who had measured deficiencies in growth hormone and were aged between 61 and 73 years. They were injected with GH produced from recombinant DNA synthesis. In 1990, Dr. Rudman's results were reported in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.

Results of the double blind

- Lean Body Mass +8.8%

- Bone Density +1.6%

- Adipose Tissue (Fat) Mass -14.4%

- Skin Thickness from 4 sites +7.1%

In short, skin became thicker, muscle mass increased, age-related stomach fat disappeared and lost bone from the spine was restored.

The effects of six months of human growth hormone on lean body mass and adipose-tissue mass were equivalent to 10 to 20 years of reversed aging. Here, the most significant result relating to anti-aging exists between the ratio of muscle to fat.

A quote from Robert Klatz's book Stopping the Clock aptly summarizes the full report made by this relationship and the implications: "...it helps to recall the way our muscle-fat ratio tends to change as we age. Some 80 percent of a young adult's body are lean body mass: (which is) muscles, organs, and bone. Only 20 percent is fatty (adipose) tissue. For most people, after age 30, muscles atrophy, partly from genetic programming, partly from underuse. Every decade thereafter an average of 5 percent of lean body mass is replaced by fatty tissue, so that by the time most of us reach age 70, we've gone from an 80-20 lean-fat ratio to a ratio that is closer to 50-50.

The increase in fatty tissue is related to a variety of cardiovascular problems, while the loss of lean body mass is linked to the elderly losing energy, strength, and mobility. Any cause that can slow or reverse the trend towards more fatty tissue in effect slows or reverses the aging process itself.

Although drugs and therapies that claim to reverse aging are nothing new, only Dr. Rudman's study passes the gold standard of drug testing: controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical study with reproducible results.

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