Some have suggested that growth hormone is a wonder drug ( 16 ) that results in ripped muscle ( 17 ) and provides stamina-increasing properties ( 18 ) .
The use of human growth hormone to improve athletic performance has recently received worldwide attention .
This practice , often called sports doping , is banned by most professional sports leagues and associations , including the International Olympic Committee , Major League Baseball , and the National Football League ( 13 ) .
However , a wide range of athletes , including those from baseball ( 46 ) , cycling ( 7 , 8) , and track and field ( 5 , 9 ) , have been implicated in or have confessed to illicit growth hormone use .
The Mitchell report ( 10 ) recently identified 89 Major League Baseball players who allegedly used performance-enhancing drugs , and some of these players have subsequently admitted to using growth hormone ( 11 , 12 ) .
Part of the attraction of using growth hormone as a performance enhancer has been that its use is difficult to detect .
The World Anti-Doping Agency , whose formation stemmed from the widely publicized doping sc and al of the 1998 Tour de France ( 13 ) , first used a blood test to detect exogenous growth hormone during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens .
Although growth hormone is reportedly used to enhance athletic performance and has been called the most anabolic substance known ( 15 ) , its efficacy for this purpose is not well established .
Exogenous growth hormone therapy in growth hormonedeficient adults ( that is , those with growth hormone deficiency due to hypothalamic or pituitary defects ) results in increased lean mass and decreased fat mass ( 19 ) , and comparable body composition changes are seen in healthy elderly adults who receive growth hormone ( 20 ) .
Some experts , however , have suggested that the strength-enhancing properties of growth hormone among healthy adults have been exaggerated ( 15 ) .
Serious side effects , including diabetes , hepatitis , and acute renal failure , may occur in athletes using high-dose growth hormone ( 21 ) .
Furthermore , the use of growth hormone for athletic enhancement is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration , and the distribution of growth hormone for this purpose is illegal in the United States ( 22 ) .
We performed a systematic review of r and omized , controlled trials to determine the effects of growth hormone therapy on athletic performance in healthy , physically fit , young adults .
Our primary aim was to evaluate the effects of growth hormone on body composition , strength , basal metabolism , and exercise capacity .
In addition , we sought to synthesize the evidence on adverse events associated with growth hormone in the healthy young and assess the quality of the published literature .
Growth hormone (GH) effects on bone and collagen turnover in healthy adults and its potential as a marker of GH abuse in sports: a double blind, placebo-controlled study. The GH-2000 Study Group.
The effects of GH on bone remodeling in healthy adults have not been systematic ally investigated . An analysis of these effects might provide insights into GH physiology and might yield data useful for the detection of GH doping in sports . The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of GH administration on biochemical markers of bone and collagen turnover in healthy volunteers . Ninety-nine healthy volunteers of both sexes were enrolled in a multicenter , r and omized , double blind , placebo-controlled study and assigned to receive either placebo ( 40 subjects ) or recombinant human GH ( 0.1 IU/kg day in 29 subjects and 0.2 IU/kg x day in 30 subjects ) . The treatment duration was 28 days , followed by a 56-day wash-out period . The biochemical markers evaluated were the bone formation markers osteocalcin and C-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen , the resorption marker type I collagen telopeptide , and the soft tissue marker procollagen type III . All variables increased on days 21 and 28 in the two active treatment groups vs. levels in both the baseline ( P < 0.01 ) and placebo ( P < 0.01 ) groups . The increment was more pronounced in the 0.2 IU/kg-day group and remained significant on day 84 for procollagen type III ( from 0.53 + /- 0.13 to 0.61 + /- 0.14 kU/L ; P < 0.02 ) and osteocalcin ( from 12.2 + 2.9 to 14.6 + /- 3.6 UG/L ; P < 0.02 ) , whereas levels of C-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen and type I collagen telopeptide declined after day 42 and were no longer significantly above baseline on day 84 ( from 3.9 + /- 1.2 to 5.1 + /-1.5 microg/L and from 174 + /- 60 to 173 + /- 53 microg/L , respectively ) . Gender-related differences were observed in the study ; females were less responsive than males to GH administration with respect to procollagen type III and type I collagen telopeptide ( P < 0.001 ) . In conclusion , exogenous GH administration affects the biochemical parameters of bone and collagen turnover in a dose- and gender-dependent manner . As GH-induced modifications of most markers , in particular procollagen type III and osteocalcin , persist after GH withdrawal , they may be suitable markers for detecting GH abuse
Some have suggested that growth hormone is a wonder drug ( 16 ) that results in ripped muscle ( 17 ) and provides stamina-increasing properties ( 18 ) .
The use of human growth hormone to improve athletic performance has recently received worldwide attention .
This practice , often called sports doping , is banned by most professional sports leagues and associations , including the International Olympic Committee , Major League Baseball , and the National Football League ( 13 ) .
However , a wide range of athletes , including those from baseball ( 46 ) , cycling ( 7 , 8) , and track and field ( 5 , 9 ) , have been implicated in or have confessed to illicit growth hormone use .
The Mitchell report ( 10 ) recently identified 89 Major League Baseball players who allegedly used performance-enhancing drugs , and some of these players have subsequently admitted to using growth hormone ( 11 , 12 ) .
Part of the attraction of using growth hormone as a performance enhancer has been that its use is difficult to detect .
The World Anti-Doping Agency , whose formation stemmed from the widely publicized doping sc and al of the 1998 Tour de France ( 13 ) , first used a blood test to detect exogenous growth hormone during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens .
Although growth hormone is reportedly used to enhance athletic performance and has been called the most anabolic substance known ( 15 ) , its efficacy for this purpose is not well established .
Exogenous growth hormone therapy in growth hormonedeficient adults ( that is , those with growth hormone deficiency due to hypothalamic or pituitary defects ) results in increased lean mass and decreased fat mass ( 19 ) , and comparable body composition changes are seen in healthy elderly adults who receive growth hormone ( 20 ) .
Some experts , however , have suggested that the strength-enhancing properties of growth hormone among healthy adults have been exaggerated ( 15 ) .
Serious side effects , including diabetes , hepatitis , and acute renal failure , may occur in athletes using high-dose growth hormone ( 21 ) .
Furthermore , the use of growth hormone for athletic enhancement is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration , and the distribution of growth hormone for this purpose is illegal in the United States ( 22 ) .
We performed a systematic review of r and omized , controlled trials to determine the effects of growth hormone therapy on athletic performance in healthy , physically fit , young adults .
Our primary aim was to evaluate the effects of growth hormone on body composition , strength , basal metabolism , and exercise capacity .
In addition , we sought to synthesize the evidence on adverse events associated with growth hormone in the healthy young and assess the quality of the published literature .