No, Human Growth Hormone Is not the Key to Eternal Youth

A few gentle readers may be chagrined to learn that the human growth hormone, known lovingly as GH, is not the key to enternal youth, but Geezer is confident that most readers will outgrow the discouraging news. The Scientific American reports on a new study by Stanford University researchers that found that, rather than turning back the clock, HG, if taken by healthy adults, can cause a host of unhealthy side effects, including joint pain, soft
tissue swelling, carpal tunnel syndrome, increased breast size in men,
and a heightened risk of diabetes and pre-diabetes. At best, Sciam reports, researchers  found that the drugs increased lean body or muscle mass
by slightly more than two kilograms (just over four pounds) and
decreased fat mass by roughly the same amount. But the body
changes did not translate into benefits: Longevity, bone density,
cholesterol levels, stamina and blood sugar levels did not
significantly change or improve.
Hau Liu, a research fellow in endocrinology and health policy at
Stanford University and the author the study, which is published in the
January 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, offers this advice: "If you went to a gym pretty regularly, you might get that change
without breaking into too much of a sweat, and you wouldn’t
spend $1,000 to $2,000 a month on something that appears to have
minimal or no benefit and has the potential of some very serious side
effects."
Read more in the Scientific American.