Growing old gracefully used to be OK, a natural part of life. Not any more. At the heart of the process for many patients is injections of human growth hormone, or HGH, first used by athletes as a muscle-building agent.
Patients say it restores youth to the body in an almost miraculous way.
Practices are cropping up across the country, appealing to an endless supply of eager, affluent baby boomer patients, particularly those in the entertainment field, including Oliver Stone, Nick Nolte and others. But anti-aging medicine is generally not covered by insurance, so you ve got to have money to be a player. And not only is the cost high, the risk is high. Some doctors are calling the off-label use of HGH irresponsible and dangerous. Twice a day, fashion designer Diane Gilman fills a small syringe with an expensive clear liquid and injects the needle into her hip.