don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

Decades ago, a survey was attributed to a sports-medicine physician, one that assessed the extent of the sacrifice that elite marathoners would make to win the ultimate prize for that sport - Olympic gold. "Would you take a new and powerful performance-enhancing chemical if doing so would enable a win, even if it also carried a high probability of death from hazardous side effects relatively soon thereafter?" According to this urban-legend-like survey (which I was unable to verify), 88 percent of the marathoners polled said they would take it.

A similar question faces 36.3 million Americans over age 65, or the much greater number over age 50 or 40 or whatever age folks might be who decide their hormone levels need a little supplementation. For anyone feeling the effects of aging and not liking it, human growth hormone (HGH) injections at one of this country's anti-aging centers might seem just the thing needed to feel and look young again.

A summary of the pros and cons, based upon a limited amount of objective scientific research (in other words, double-blind, cross over trials of a longitudinal, horizontal and dignified nature), indicates taking HGH is a high-risk gamble. Doing so will almost certainly add life to your years, but there may be fewer years from using the stuff.

The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that human growth hormone is being prescribed to tens of thousands of people each year at anti-aging or "age management" centers. Here are some of the pros and cons of this practice, as described in "The Outlaw Drug: Despite Its Popularity, Most H.G.H. Use Is Illegal," The New York Times, August 20, 2006.

Benefits include better body composition ratios (in other words, more muscle, less fat), lower blood pressure, dramatic weight loss, improved skin tone and improved athletic performance. HGH may speed the healing process and increase bone density in the spine. Also, according to one HGH fan who expressed surprise that not everyone was taking the hormone, it can "restore sagging physiques, flagging endurance and wilting libidos as well as cure depression and sharpen mental acuity." Shoot, I'm almost ready to get me some of that stuff right now!

Not inconsequentially, most who claim dramatic benefits from HGH acknowledge significant lifestyle changes (always encouraged at anti-aging centers), particularly better nutrition and vigorous exercise. Nobody would doubt that these variables made a difference, but how to properly attribute life quality gains to one factor (HGH) versus others? Currently, doing so is pure guesswork. Yet, some testimonials seem to come with a religious fervor. Perhaps the time and costs invested in anti-aging center treatments might unconsciously influence some to believe they did the right thing. ($15,000 for a yearly cycle of growth-hormone injections is not atypical of costs nationwide.)

What about the problems, or even complications, besides high costs?

Well, for starters, it's illegal. But then, so is marijuana and lots of folks enjoy that, anyway. As noted in the NYTimes article cited above, "The Food and Drug Administration has banned H.G.H. for all but a few specific medical conditions (see "The Outlaw Drug"), and it has been banned by most professional sports leagues in the United States and by the International Olympic Committee." Well, that's not so good, but what else?

Unfortunately, little research has been done on HGH. The long-term consequences are unknown, particularly on healthy people. What are optimal doses, if any? At what point do risks increase?

What are the negative indicators, based on evidence reported to date? This list might give anyone at any age pause. It seems HGH can:

• Alter the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates (which could lead to blood-sugar imbalances and diabetes.
  
  
• Cause bones to thicken, contributing to joint pain and severe arthritis.
  
  
• Lead to high blood pressure, edema and congestive heart failure.
  
  
• Trigger uncontrolled cell growth, raising the specter of cancer. According to sources cited in the Times, "studies have linked high production levels of growth hormone to the development of prostate tumors and invasive breast cancer."

This does not exhaust pro and con arguments for HGH, but it should give you an idea of how the promise of great returns carries high risks. This is true of investments, career options and much else in life. What to do about HGH? There is only one answer, at least at this time with conclusive evidence not yet available: Apply critical thinking skills and take responsibility for doing what you think is best.

As a wellness enthusiast given to reason and free inquiry, I might ask myself, "What would Spinoza do?" Would he, at my age, take HGH? Spinoza thought we all had a capacity for reason, and that capacity gave us our dignity and compassion. Lewis Wolpert, in Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast, suggests that human reasoning is "beset with logical problems that include over-dependence on authority, overemphasis on coincidence, distortion of the evidence, circular reasoning, use of anecdotes, ignorance of science and failures of logic."

I plan to avoid all these errors by not relying on experts at anti-aging centers, by being wary of possible coincidences and distorted evidence, by keeping my reasoning from going in circles, by giving little credence to anecdotes and by checking out the science on this issue in a logical way.

In other words, I'm not touching this stuff.

Not yet, anyway.

Be well. Always look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of appearance and aging. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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