I am looking into GH. One of the "experts" I know think it will help me acheive the goals that I want. I don't know much about GH other that its standard physiology/endocrinolog. any good post on the effectiveness of synthetic GH that you guys can steer me towards would be much appreciated.
I wouldn't mind FreakMD's 2 cents on this one also.
GH is certainly effective in building muscle and helping with fat reduction, among other things. The results are typically not immediately dramatic, like they are with AAS, and really would need to be taken over extended periods of time to get a satisfactory effect. This type of therapy is rather costly, albeit effective.
If the concern is GH effects on liver function, to my knowledge there have been no reports of hepatotoxicity with the use of this compound. Interestingly, I found the following recent case report that may even suggest otherwise:
Growth hormone reverses nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in a patient with adult growth hormone deficiency.Takahashi Y, Iida K, Takahashi K, Yoshioka S, Fukuoka H, Takeno R, Imanaka M, Nishizawa H, Takahashi M, Seo Y, Hayashi Y, Kondo T, Okimura Y, Kaji H, Kitazawa R, Kitazawa S, Chihara K.
Division of Endocrinology/Metabolism, Neurology, and Hematology/Oncology, Department of Clinical Molecular Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan. takahash@med.kobe-u.ac.jp
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an emerging progressive hepatic disease and demonstrates steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis. Insulin resistance is a common feature in the development of NASH. Molecular pathogenesis of NASH consists of 2 steps: triglyceride accumulation in hepatocytes with insulin resistance and an enhanced oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species. Interestingly, NASH demonstrates a striking similarity to the pathologic conditions observed in adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD). AGHD is characterized by decreased lean body mass, increased visceral adiposity, abnormal lipid profile, and insulin resistance. Moreover, liver dysfunctions with hyperlipidemia and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are frequently observed in patients with AGHD, and it is accompanied by metabolic syndrome. METHODS: We studied a case diagnosed as NASH with hyperlipidemia in AGHD. The effect of GH-replacement therapy on the patient was analyzed. RESULTS:
Six months of GH-replacement therapy in the patient drastically ameliorated NASH and the abnormal lipid profile concomitant with a marked reduction in oxidative stress. CONCLUSIONS:
These results suggest that GH plays an essential role in the metabolic and redox regulation in the liver.PMID: 17324404 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
