Ageing is a natural and unavoidable life process that affects the entire body and lifestyle of the individual who is growing older. The detrimental effects of ageing typically include the loss of muscle mass, changes in the skin, a deterioration of bone mass and bone density, changes in sleep patterns, a general reduction in physical wellbeing, and an overall decline in cognitive function that varies from individual to individual. Advanced age also makes it more difficult for overweight individuals to lose weight.
The quality of sleep may also decline with age, leaving the individual in a state of fatigue or exhaustion. For centuries, people have tried to reduce or eliminate the physical and mental complications that are associated with old age. Traditional remedies for ageing include exercise, good nutrition, meditation, and other parts of a healthy lifestyle. These traditional remedies, however, may not be enough for people who want to wage a more aggressive fight against the ageing process.
When traditional remedies do not deliver the desired results, many older people may considering turning to human growth hormone (HGH) as an anti-ageing therapy. Proponents of HGH therapies claim that HGH can reduce excess body fat, can increase lean muscle mass, can reduce the effects of ageing on skin, can help in the regeneration of some internal organs that have been affected by age, can increase bone density, can strengthen the immune system, reverse cognitive decline, and have other positive benefits (Emanuelson, Chapter 5).
These claims, however, are made primarily by companies that sell products that contain HGH. A search of the PubMed database and of the National Institute of Health database revealed that there are actually very few independent, clinical studies about the benefits of HGH as an anti-ageing treatment that were conducted by researchers who were not associated with a company that sells HGH products. Based on these searches, it appears that HGH has not been put through the same type of unbiased clinical trials, for example, that would be required for a prescription medication that was about to enter the market.
Although HGH has shown some promise as an anti-ageing treatment, it is probably not as effective as the websites that sell HGH would lead their customers to believe. Researchers who have investigated HGH have warned that the hormone “should not be widely prescribed and should be limited to controlled research studies” (Waxman 5). Other researchers have concluded specifically that HGH should not be used as an anti-ageing treatment (Waxman 5). Several health risks have been associated with HGH, including cancer (Melmed, Devlin, Vlotides, Dhall, et al.
) and stroke (National Institute on Aging). Despite these warnings, however, many ageing Americans have chosen to use HGH to reduce the effects of growing old. These older men and women and the doctors that choose to treat their patients with HGH do not view ageing as a natural and inevitable process, but as a “treatable medical condition” (Wilson). Older people who are considering using HGH supplementation need to weigh the possible benefits with the potential risks of HGH before they begin HGH treatment.