It sounds like the ultimate anti-ageing elixir. With purported benefits such
as younger-looking skin, reduced body fat and higher energy levels, human
growth hormone (HGH) is being hailed as a wonder supplement. Administered
orally or via injection, it has thousands of devotees in America and an
increasing number in the UK, who have dubbed it “plastic surgery in a
bottle”.
It is also highly controversial. Normally administered to treat conditions
such as multiple sclerosis and growth problems in children, its use in
injectable and oral forms as a sports performance-enhancer, body-building
aid and anti-ageing supplement is widely restricted, as incorrect dosages
can lead to severe bloating and even a full physical breakdown. It is not
approved for these uses either in the UK or America, but this is
circumvented by doctors, who are allowed to prescribe it privately to people
they deem to have a deficiency. As a result, on Harley Street, these £400
prescriptions are more coveted than an Anya Hindmarch handbag, with many
A-listers rumoured to be among its devotees.
“Growth hormone is controversial and we need to be cautious about it, but I do
think we should keep an open mind about it,” says Dr Paul Jenkins, an
endocrinologist at St Bartholomew’s hospital in London. “There’s a case for
more scientific evaluation of its use in antiageing treatment.”
Used topically, the hormone is permitted in off-the-shelf creams and serums,
and several pharmaceutical companies are so convinced it can help to fight
ageing that they are investing millions of pounds into researching how to
get the hormone into skincare products to bring it to a wider market. 3Lab’s
“h” Serum, the first anti-ageing cream to contain a bioengineered version of
HGH, went on sale at Selfridges five months ago and there is already a
waiting list.
But what exactly is HGH? A protein-like substance, it is produced by the
pituitary gland in the base of the brain. It plays a crucial role in many of
the body’s metabolic processes – too little in childhood leads to stunted
growth, and too little in an adult results in excess body fat, lack of lean
muscle tissue, brittle bones and thin, wrinkle-prone skin.
It has long been known that production of the hormone slows down as we grow
older. By the age of 60, we make half as much HGH as we did at 20. The
pharmaceutical industry originally obtained it by extracting it from the
brains of dead humans (a risky process that meant some batches were
contaminated with CJD, the human form of “mad cow” disease), but in 1985 it
was produced synthetically. Then, in 1990, a landmark clinical trial
supported its antiageing effects. Dr Daniel Rudman’s study, published in the
New England Journal of Medicine, showed that HGH reversed many of the
biggest markers of ageing – increasing skin thickness, reducing wrinkles and
body fat, and increasing muscle mass by the equivalent of 10 to 20 years, in
men in their sixties and seventies.
Subsequent studies suggested HGH also boosts libido, improves mental
wellbeing, increases energy levels and metabolic rate. “Nearly 20,000
clinical studies conducted around the world document the broad benefits of
pharmacological HGH therapy,” says Dr Ronald Klatz of the American Academy
of AntiAgeing Medicine. “With HGH, the so-called signs of ageing can be
reversed.”
The supplement has become extremely popular, even though many countries
(including the UK and the States) have not approved it for anti-ageing
treatment because there have been no long-term studies of its side effects
in healthy users. Consequently, a black-market industry has since sprung up.
Nowadays, about a third of HGH prescriptions in America are ultimately for
anti-ageing purposes, according to a 2005 study published in the Journal of
the American Medicine Association.
“I have about 250 patients currently on HGH,” says Dr Thierry Hertoghe, a GP
with an interest in endocrinology. “I’ve been taking it myself for 13 years,
and it has completely changed my life. I’m now 50, but I have no wrinkles. I
need two hours less sleep than I did when I was younger, and I’ve got a much
more efficient memory. My body fat is 13%. Basically, HGH stops the body
cells from atrophying. I believe 70% of ageing is due to lack of growth
hormone.”
The anti-ageing guru Dr Cecilia Tregear of the Wimpole Skin Care Centre in
London is another doctor who has taken it herself.
“The effect was amazing,” she says. “I had so much energy, and I felt as if I
was on a high all the time. I took it for three years as an experiment into
its safety and had no side effects from taking a low dose.”
Worryingly, however, many people are bypassing doctors and buying it over the
internet. Type “HGH” into Google and the search will throw up website after
website selling it illegally. Many offer it as a pill or oral spray, despite
the fact that, as Jenkins explains, HGH is destroyed by digestive acids, so
it only works if it is injected into the bloodstream. But there are plenty
of other sites stocking it in injectable form, and that is where it becomes
dangerous. “Some of these sites sell it in large dosages, and the risk is
that you overload the adrenal glands, which can result in infection, illness
and a complete physical breakdown,” says Tregear. “I have seen people who
have been taking large doses they have bought over the internet, and they
have come close to adrenal failure.” Too much HGH can also result in severe
bloating and “can cause swelling in the hands, feet, nose and lips”, says
Hertoghe. At the extreme end of the scale, excessive amounts of HGH can give
you a prominent jaw, enlarged hands and feet, hypertension and diabetes.
Not all experts are convinced that the benefits of HGH are worth the risk of
these side effects. A recent study published in the Annals of Internal
Medicine found that HGH does nothing to improve life span. Another review of
31 studies at Stanford University concluded that the only real benefit of
HGH supplementation was a slight increase in lean muscle mass. “The evidence
that growth hormone is a proven anti-ageing agent is relatively small,” says
Richard Ross, professor of endocrinology at the University of Sheffield.
“Growth-hormone levels do drop after the age of 40, but, so far, nobody has
proved that increasing them gets rid of wrinkles. It may have a marginal
effect, but it won’t be miraculous.” Even the most committed HGH user will
admit that it’s not a miracle cure. You only see the results with continued
use, which means daily injections and a financial outlay of up to £20,000 a
year – money down the drain if you like a glass or two of wine with your
dinner, says Hertoghe, pointing out that studies have shown that just one
glass of alcohol a day completely cancels the effects. “To get the best
results, you should limit drinking alcohol to no more than two days a week.”
So, if injecting HGH is questionable, what about smearing it on your skin in
an anti-ageing cream? HGH expert Professor Peter Sonksen of St Thomas’
hospital says it could work, but there is one big caveat. “There are
growth-hormone receptors in every cell in the body,” he says, “but HGH is a
large protein molecule, and I’m not sure how you would get it to pass into
the skin.”
John Kressaty, the chemist and creative brain behind “h” Serum, maintains that
3Lab has invested £2.5m to produce the nanotechnology necessary to allow HGH
to penetrate the skin. “These hormones travel through the dermis via the
hair follicles. About 80% of the growth-hormone receptors in the skin are
clustered at the base of the hair follicles,” he says. “We view it as
hormone-replacement therapy for the skin. Our clinical trials were done on
sun-damaged, prematurely aged skin in Australia, and we found a 100%
improvement in wrinkles and skin texture.”
Although 3Lab hasn’t yet advertised in the UK, the £100 face serum and a
second product, WW Eye Cream at £125 a pot, both have a word-of-mouth
following and regularly sell out. “My skin has never looked so dewy,” says
one user of the serum. “It just feels thicker in a way. I noticed results
within two days.”
NATURAL WAYS TO BOOST YOUR HGH
— Lifestyle changes can boost HGH naturally, says anti-ageing guru Dr Cecilia
Tregear of the Wimpole Skin Care Centre in London. Here’s how:
— Get 8 hours’ sleep a night. HGH production relies on getting a good night’s
rest.
— Drink as little alcohol as possible.
— Eat organic protein such as red meat, chicken or fish with every meal. The
amino acid lysine in protein stimulates HGH production.
— Eat as few grain-based foods as possible – get your carbs from vegetables
and fruit instead.
— Avoid anything that contains sugar.
— Exercise regularly – moderate exercise stimulates HGH production, but
excessive exercise has the opposite effect.
— Keep stress to a minimum, as it uses up HGH.
— Cut down your exposure to pollution and pesticides, which can affect the
endocrine system.
