HGH - All Hype, No Performance?
This certainly seems to be the case, at least under certain circumstances, according to a review of dozens of studies devised to compare the performance enhancing effects of human growth hormone (HGH) against athletes who were not given the so-called wonder drug.
The 27 studies involved 440 athletes and were conducted for no more than three months each. Study participants receiving the hormone gained about 5 pounds of muscle mass during the study and lost about 2 pounds of fat. The loss of fat is considered statistically insignificant when compared to the study participants in the control group not receiving the hormone. Researchers expect some of the increase in muscle mass to be fluid retention instead of actual muscle tissue.
The studies revealed no difference in either stamina or strength between participants receiving HGH and the control groups that did not. One disclosed weakness in the compiled data, however, is that only two of the 27 studies tested strength and eight measured stamina during exercise. In these studies, the HGH groups reported side effects such as fatigue and swelling to an extent not present in the control groups.
Study participants received low levels of the hormone and for only a short duration. There is speculation that, when used by professional athletes, doses are much higher and the hormone is used for longer periods of time. It’s also likely the professional athletes use HGH in conjunction with other performance-enhancing drugs.
To study the drug in clinical trials that more closely match real use in the world of professional athletics is “dangerous, unethical and it’s never going to be done,” according to Dr. Gary I. Wadler, spokesman for the American College of Sports Medicine and a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Synthetic HGH, available since the 1980s, is approved for use in some conditions in children and adults, these may include abnormally short stature, pituitary gland deficiencies that hamper the body’s ability to manufacture its own human growth hormone, and wasting effects of AIDS.
HGH has never been approved for use in healthy athletes although it is a popular but clandestine practice. At this time, HGH cannot be detected in the urine so some athletes and their trainers use it with little fear of exposure. An HGH-detecting blood test will soon be available, however, and there is another one in the development stage.
Some athletes, including baseball’s Andy Pettitte, claim to have used HGH as a treatment for injuries. The drug and its use in professional baseball are under investigation by the US Senate.
The results of this compilation review were published yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers conducted the review with support from Stanford University and various government agencies. Genentech Inc., a maker of synthetic human growth hormone, also contributed support to the study. None of the supporting entities took a role in the study but two researchers have served as consultants or grant recipients from Genentech and other pharmaceutical companies.
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This is great news for people who are using HGH to boost athletic performance. Now they can argue there is no reason to ban the drug and if fact if they had not taken it they would have done even better.
The users gained 5 lbs of muscle mass in 3 months, that’s not saying anything about the users performance. Think about an athlete that takes HGH for a year, 15 lbs of muscle mass. That probably equals about $2 million more a year. Are you sure MLB didn’t pay for this study and you got swindled into printing this stupid study.
Participants received an overdose of human growth hormone for a shorter length of time than athletes routinely take a much lower dose. Overdose of any vitamin, medicine, hormone, or food causes adverse effects. Nothing new here to discuss.
The benefit of supplemental vitamins, foods, hormones, medicines, and protheses are proven beyond doubt by professionals in athletics and health science.
The question in my mind is whether athletes should perform naked and without benefit of the best nutrition, clothing, shoes, eye glasses, braces, medical care, vitamin supplements, gator ade, and hormone supplements. Sports fans come to see optimum performance. Professional athletes should use the same technology and science that is available to the average American. We do not expect our professional soldier athletes to go into combat without the best technology that our nation can provide. Supplements and protheses are part of the available technology used by weekend athletes as well as professionals.
This just proves that in three months of low dose, you can gain 5lbs, can you imagine at higher dose! This would be reasonable. Take skinny WWE wrestlers that disappear for about a year and returns all buff and huge. its ashame that people are relying on drugs to get ahead of hard working athletes. This report is incomplete. The test subjects should be put through more excersize testing to see how they compare. This report and last weeks report on contaimating our drinking water might be linked if more people are using drugs to get an edge.
the clincher is the study was conducted by two cunsultants from Genentech, maker of HGH! Just as “doctors” told the public that steriods don’t work after they became illegal in the 80’s so again HGH doesn’t work now. GET real! It works and it works great, especially when combined with anabolic steroids, every bodybuilder and professional athelet in the world knows. They are not all using it because their friend are finding out it doesn’t help their performance! They are all using it because they have seen the results. We have all stood and applauded its benifits as long as no one tells us the truth about how our star got to be so good for so long.
“The users gained 5 lbs of muscle mass in 3 months, that’s not saying anything about the users performance. Think about an athlete that takes HGH for a year, 15 lbs of muscle mass.”
Actually it would be 20lbs in a year based on your logic. 3*4=12 and 5*4=20
Please keep the following in mind when evaluating such nonsense, and please bear with me, it’s really simple.
Simple physics (Newton’s second law) states that force = mass times acceleration (F = ma). With a baseball player, for example, the force (F) with which the bat strikes the ball equals the mass of the bat …..multiplied times ….the acceleration of the bat (ma). More muscle allows one to use a large bat, thus the mass of the bat increases. The increased muscle mass also allows a hitter to accelerate the bat from point A to point B faster.
Both the mass and the acceleration increase, so the force increases and the ball flies out of the park more often, against the wall for a triple, etc. In addition, when one is swinging at pitches one should not swing at because one is caught off balance by a good pitch, etc. one can still recover quicker than normally due to the higher acceleration of the bat to recover and hit the ball.
For this Stanford study and all earlier pronouncements in the nineties by the AMA, et all that HGH and/or steroids don’t boost athletic prowess is pathetically ignorant. The recent articles in Sports Illustrated point this out when they relate that while the AMA, et all were saying such nonsense, the athletes were using more and more because they KNEW it was boosting their prowess on the diamond, football field, etc.
I really would love to see you write an article on this and blast such nonsense as the Stanford study.
Dr. Bob
PS: I include this technical link just as a footnote. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/acmas2.html
“The users gained 5 lbs of muscle mass in 3 months, that’s not saying anything about the users performance. Think about an athlete that takes HGH for a year, 15 lbs of muscle mass.”
“Actually it would be 20lbs in a year based on your logic. 3*4=12 and 5*4=20″
Not necessary - due to diminishing gains/diminishing effect of the the drug over time in the human body.
The body will always try to reach an equilibrium therefore taking it for a year will not yield constant growth.
So what’s the problem? Modern athletes use a wide variety of training techniques and substances not used in the 19th century, and no one complains about those. I’m using homeopathic HGH without a Docs script and very pleased with the results. It beats the heck out of the cortisone & antibiotic regiment he wanted to put me on, and a lot less costly.
HGH is not primarily used for muscle mass gain, but for cartilage repair.
think about an athlete who uses typical muscle mass building androgynous steroids, as well as the wear and tear to their body over the many years of training and playing their sport. then factor in HGH usage… it basically replenishes their body’s natural deterioration over time.
steroids are here to stay people. i say we legalize them and have doctors monitor usage. dont you want your basketball players to be able to do flip-dunks or your football players to KO each other with every hit? look at the HR stats in baseball and what it has done for the sports publicity.
I am an endocrinologist who treats both those who have a deficiency and those who have an excess of HGH.
Readers need to take the point about the water gain seriously. Even assuming that the mean body mass was accurately measured (doubtful, given the serious shortcomings of the usual techniques), they primarily measure WATER. As anyone who treats with HGH legitimately knows, it causes water retention for the first few months. Since the studies were no more than three months long, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the five pounds in question were water weight.
There is no question that restoring HGH levels to normal can have profound benefits in a person’s well-being and functioning, on or off of the field. Stated another way, having abnormally low levels of HGH can profoundly impair a person, both on and off of the field. I am not privy to Andy Pettitte’s medical history, but head trauma is a common cause of HGH deficiency. Unless the anonymous author has access to privileged medical information to justify his statement, saying that some athletes “claim to have used HGH as a treatment for injuries” is bigoted innuendo against those who require treatment for medical disabilities, and in Andy Pettitte’s case, probably borders on libel. Assuming that a physician correctly diagnoses this abnormality, restoring an athlete (or anyone else) to a condition that (imperfectly) approximates normal does not give him an unfair advantage, but corrects his unfair disadvantage! By the same token, an excess of HGH will also have profound effects which are far from advantageous (Read up on acromegaly!).
This article, like the studies on which it was based, is embarrassingly superficial and basically worthless.
“Mean body mass” should read “lean body mass.” Sorry.
I thought HGH improved visual acuity. This would seem to be useful for Baseball and was not tested for in any of the studies. Is there any evidence of this? What about coordination?
Perhaps, the underlying reasons for the “official-reality-projectors” to delimit, scapegoat, vilify or discredit practical uses of HGH (by ordinary citizens and/or professional athletes) is because their assumed pontification enables or validates strategies of “power and control?” To me, they seem to be taking a “designer-form” of HGH and androgynous steroids to enhance psychological & brain-system stupidity.–Rooster
It wasn’t that long ago that the same people were saying steroids don’t build muscle. All this study achieves is the scientific community is undermined once again by flawed research.
“Not necessary - due to diminishing gains/diminishing effect of the the drug over time in the human body.
The body will always try to reach an equilibrium therefore taking it for a year will not yield constant growth.”
Do you have any evidence of this?
Dr. Shank is exactly right. I am a patient on HGH and testosterone therapy. I am a disabled vet with regenerative spinal disease. The first 3 moths I experienced swelling of the ankles and edema or basically water retention. After that well… lets put it this way, 1 year later working out 4 times a week and a fairly good diet I went from 23% body fat at 178 lbs. to 11% bodyfat at 201 lbs. Bear in mind I have ALWAYS worked out and used supliments (legal) and have NEVER achieved these types of gains in muscle and corresponding loss of body fat. I heal like Wolverine now.
This says nothing about illegal use of the hormone. THe study they did was at such low doses compared to illegal use that any results are irrelevent. Its equivelent to giving people half a beer and testing driving skills, then concluding that beer has no effect on driving abilities. If you need any proof that HGH can help atheletes, just look at baseball, if HGH did nothing, then most other baseball players would be using other steroids.
I’m a biochemist, weight trainer of many years, and am well versed in endocrinology. Years ago I chanced upon a research paper stating that L-arginine is a hypothalamic releasing factor for HGH. I am well aware of the acromegalic consequences of overdosing on HGH. Therefore I tested L-arginine on a kitten. After six months the kitten weighed ten pounds, had bow legs, a barrel chest, was well muscled, and had heavy loose skin. All these are symptoms of acromegaly. I proved to my satisfaction that L-arginine is indeed a hypothalamic releasing factor for HGH. I tested L-arginine on myself on several occasions. After taking one gram on an empty stomach I felt sleepy and took a nap after thirty minutes. I proceeded to sleep with vivid colorful dreams as I had as a child. I noticed my cat napped soon after receiving his dose. I have never used L-arginine nor HGH yet for my weight training. If I felt the need I would prefer L-arginine because it is less expensive and need not be taken by injection or prescription as is necessary with HGH. L-arginine is readily available as a nutritional supplement in drug stores and health stores.
@economical alternative:
Technically, L-arginine is not a hypothalamic releasing factor for HGH. It inhibits the hypothalamic secretion of somatostatin, which inhibits pituitary secretion of somatotropin (HGH). Inhibiting the inhibitor releases the pituitary gland to secrete HGH.
You did not say how much L-arginine that you gave your kitten, but the same dose given by mouth to an adult human would have negligible effects on HGH secretion. When L-arginine is used to test the pituitary gland’s capacity to secrete HGH, massive doses are given intravenously over a very short period of time. Such doses can have other effects, such as causing low blood sugar (by stimulating the secretion of insulin). For anyone thinking of trying this at home, deaths have occurred from overdoses of L-arginine.
@Mike:
HGH is not a “steroid.” It is a peptide (protein-like) hormone that is closely related to TSH (which controls the thyroid) and beta-HCG (familiar for its role in pregnancy tests). Your criticism of the report is partially correct, but your evidence for the benefits of misusing HGH is faulty. The only way to know whether or not HGH helps healthy athletes is to do a study in which neither the athletes nor the scientists know who is receiving HGH and who is receiving a placebo (dummy) injection. Since the side effects of even “normal” doses are often so obvious at the beginning of therapy, and since much higher than “normal” doses would have to be given to mimic the abusive use of HGH, it would be pretty hard to keep everyone in the dark about which treatment he was receiving. Furthermore, there would be ethical problems, since giving such massive doses can cause brain swelling and death.
Matt’s experience with therapeutic use is typical. He had an estimated 23% body fat, before treatment, even though he worked out and ate a healthy diet. Once his hormone levels were corrected to normal, he got the NORMAL results of his exercise and diet regimen. Those of us who treat with HGH for true deficiencies follow laboratory tests and monitor our patients for side effects. Over the nine years that I have been involved in clinical treatment and research with HGH, there has been a distinct trend toward lower and lower doses in adults, in order to avoid unwanted effects. Acromegaly certainly does NOT enhance athletic performance, and it is very unlikely that injections to artificially raise HGH levels83?Uve normal would either.
The trouble with much of the studies is that they are done for too short a period of time,at moderate dosages,not in combination with other drugs, and with test groups who are far removed from world caliber performance.Put a test group of world level competitors into groups using placibos the other groups using various performance enhancing drugs in known performance enhancing combinations[HGH and insulin] etc for a period of 5 years.Forget body fat just measure performance in their chosen sport.Nice to do the research and collect a salary,but you can walk into any gym and find an 18 year old boy who weighs 175 pounds,been working out 3 years and benches 325 pounds.Baseball,which seems to get a lot of attention is a sport that most would say benefits the least from performance drugs,it is just the salaries are so mush higher for those that make it.
It just boils down to a sad commentary on having to win at all costs.
I think hgh is a good product but is used correctly and under doctors supervision.
I guess HGH can boost athletic performance, but should be used in limited quantity only when needed, under the supervision of a qualified doctor.
I think rules for the usage of HGH by athletes should be reconsidered as they may not always use it for illegal purposes.
Now a days many athletics are taking this products in large quantity then that of regular one. Its better if they take in limited quantity so that their Life and Health will not be effected.
Using HGH is part of athletes’ life but it should be limited and should not be misused. That would be harmful for the health and career of the athletes.
-Devin
I agree with you, Devin. Excess use of HGH not only spoils the health of athletes, but their career as well.
-Daniel
HGH, definitely is good for athletes if used to the extent desired, in limited quantity. Otherwise, it may prove to be dangerous.
-Mini
I think athletes should be made to rely more on the natural sources of increasing HGH levels and less on the products.
-Toni
I agree with you, Toni. Athletes should be encouraged to concentrate on increasing the HGH levels naturally, unless needed or prescribed by experts.
-Steve
I think athletes should not be misled or encouraged to use HGH supplements, unless they are very much needed.