Ultimate hgh growth hormone deficiency

Once again, the headlines in newspapers' sports pages are spotlighting human growth hormone (HGH), the latest performance-enhancing drug reportedly used by some professional baseball players. I asked a colleague who specializes in disorders of the pituitary gland whether a healthy, strong young athlete could get any benefit from injections of HGH. He told me it can help them develop more muscle tissue. It's unlikely, he added, that healthy young athletes will suffer serious ill effects from short-term use of HGH. But it's also uncertain whether HGH will make them stronger, let alone boost their home run totals or (for pitchers) lower their earned run averages. HGH is essential for normal growth during childhood and continues to play an important role in body metabolism later in life. Because HGH levels fall as one ages, you may have heard about HGH replacement as a way to overcome some of the less welcome aspects of aging: loss of muscle and bone mass, increased risk of fractures, and accumulation of fat, especially around the belly. What does the research say? Giving HGH to healthy older adults does indeed increase muscle mass and decrease body fat. But claims for other benefits of HGH replacement in the elderly, such as greater strength and better mental function, have not been proven. Giving HGH to older adults has also been associated with side effects like joint pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, fluid retention, and abnormal glucose metabolism. Though HGH replacement in the elderly still holds some promise, problems remain. Who knows whether there are dangerous long-term effects? HGH replacement is also expensive (around $1,000 per month) and painful, since it must be injected. The HGH pills hawked over the Internet are a rip-off - they don't work. And it's illegal to sell or buy HGH for injection without a prescription. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies are working to develop pills that stimulate the body's secretion of HGH. One of these produc