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Risks of Taking HGH

Human Growth Hormone, or HGH, is a substance produced naturally by the pituitary gland in the brain. In medicine, growth hormone therapy is used to treat growth conditions such as dwarfism. However, use of HGH as an anti-aging "miracle" drug has exploded in past years. The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine promotes the use of injectable HGH to decrease body fat, increase muscle and bone density, and reverse the aging process. However, abuse of HGH by people who do not need the hormone poses serious health risks.

  1. Muscle/Joint Discomfort

    • About half the people who begin HGH therapy experience some form of musculoskeletal discomfort, and about 25 percent experience water retention and swelling of the hands, legs and feet. Some users may develop carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition in which the hands and wrists tingle, ache or become numb. While many of these side effects begin to wane as the user becomes more accustomed to the drug, a large number of people have side effects so severe that they must quit taking HGH.

    Growth Disorders

    • The pituitary gland naturally pumps out the right amount of human growth hormone in most healthy people. When someone adds excess HGH to the body, they may develop growth disorders such as acromegaly, or gigantism. A person suffering from gigantism may develop a brain tumor that causes the head to lengthen and grow bigger, the hands, feet, jaw and tongue to grow unnaturally large and the heart, liver and spleen to expand. The risk of developing this kind of growth disorder is even higher in teens and children who partake in HGH therapy, because their bodies are still producing large amounts of growth hormone naturally.

    Gynecomastia

    • Gynecomastia is a disorder in which a man develops fatty breast tissue as a result of hormonal imbalances. Studies have shown a positive correlation between excess HGH intake and the risk of gynecomastia. In the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Glenn Braunstein from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California cited a study in which 26 men with low HGH levels received biosynthetic growth hormone. Four of the 26 subjects developed gynecomastia, while none of the 19 subjects in the control group developed the condition. The authors of the study concluded that the effect was brought on by the lactogenic property of the synthetic HGH.

    Cancer Risks

    • According to Samuel S. Epstein, M.D., with the Cancer Prevention Coalition, HGH works by stimulating the liver to secrete more Insulin-Like Growth Factor, or IGF-1. Numerous studies reference a positive correlation between elevated IGF-1 levels and increased risks of certain forms of cancer, such as breast, prostate and colon cancer. Even minor IGF-1 elevations are associated with up to 700 percent higher risk of developing cancer. Moreover, IGF-1 also stimulates the growth and spreading of smaller, undiagnosed cancers while increasing the cancer's resistance to chemotherapy.

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