Human Growth Hormone (HGH): Benefits, Risks and Myths

Somatropin, or recombinant human growth hormone (HGH), is a common physical and performance enhancement drug. It is a manufactured form of somatotropin, or growth hormone (GH), a substance that is produced naturally in the human body. Somatropin is an exact replica of natural GH.

There are three major effects of HGH that are desirable for bodybuilders and athletes. First, HGH promotes the development of new muscle cells. A person's number of muscle cells is determined by genetics. After puberty, the level of GH a person's body secretes declines, and muscle cell development ceases. A person can then only work to increase the size of these cells through weight training.

Steroids are different from HGH in that steroids increase the size of muscle cells, mostly through water weight. When a person uses HGH as a performance enhancement drug, they gain only lean muscle mass. The weight gain is slow, usually between one and two pounds of lean muscle every two to three weeks. However, by taking HGH and developing new muscle cells, a person can alter their genetic capabilities and achieve results that wouldn't be possible without HGH treatment.

The second desired effect of HGH treatment is increased energy and metabolism. GH is produced in the human body naturally at its highest levels during youth and puberty. It is primarily responsible for the heightened levels of energy in children. However, the amount of GH that a body produces and secretes declines as a person ages.

Supplementing HGH can raise your energy levels and metabolism. It can cause you to feel energized and burn fat. In fact, HGH is a precursor to IGF-1; IGF-1 secretion is caused by HGH secretion. IGF-1 forces your body to seek energy from your fat reserves rather than from the food you consume. This results in significant weight loss even in inactive periods.

The third desired effect of HGH treatment is that it shortens the amount of time needed for recovery between workouts. It can strengthen joints and ligaments and heal damaged tissue. Additionally, because it is a natural substance, it is not as easily detected as other performance-enhancing drugs.

As a pharmaceutical drug, HGH is used for many different conditions, including GH deficiency. It is prescribed by endocrinologists most often for children who suffer with growth retardation or deficiency. For this purpose, HGH treatment is FDA-approved. However, HGH is not FDA-approved as a performance or physical enhancement drug in adults. Therefore, persons seeking to use HGH for these purposes must purchase HGH on the black market.

There are some things to remember when choosing a black-market HGH drug. First, oral and nasal forms of HGH have not been proven to be effective methods of treatment in medical studies. HGH must be taken intravenously in order to cause desired effects. It is most often purchased in lyophilized powder form, and it must be mixed with distilled water prior to injection. Once mixed, HGH must be kept refrigerated.

Second, the only effective means of manufacturing HGH is by protein secretion or mouse-cell technology. These methods create HGH that is identical to naturally-produced GH. If manufactured HGH isn't identical to natural GH, it is not effective. Another common method of HGH manufacture is through inclusion-body technology. Inclusion-body technology does not produce a product identical to natural GH.

The third thing to watch out for when purchasing HGH is a form of HGH called cadaver-GH. This is a primitive method of HGH treatment in which GH is taken from the pancreas of a cadaver. In addition to causing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, cadaver-GH can cause the transference of many diseases.

While there are some potential side effects of HGH treatment, they are rare. Most often, these side effects are caused by using HGH for longer than recommended in larger-than-recommended dosages. These include hypoglycemia, aromeglia, extended belly, carpal tunnel syndrome, and joint pain.

There's a common myth surrounding HGH use that claims that people who use HGH have abnormal bone growth. This is not true. After puberty, the ends of long bones fuse and are no longer able to grow.