Patient education: Growth hormone treatment in adults (The Basics)

What is growth hormone? — Growth hormone is a substance made by a gland located at the base of the brain. This gland is called the pituitary gland (figure 1). The pituitary gland has different cells in it that make different types of hormones, including growth hormone.

Children need growth hormone to grow taller and develop muscles. Adults need growth hormone for their body to work normally.

Having too much or too little growth hormone can lead to problems. These problems can include thinning of the bones, gaining body fat, and heart disease. When people have too little growth hormone, doctors call it a "growth hormone deficiency." Doctors can tell if someone has a growth hormone deficiency by doing blood tests.

Normally, as adults get older, their pituitary gland makes less growth hormone. This happens in all adults. This is different from a growth hormone deficiency.

Who needs treatment with growth hormone? — People with certain medical issues need treatment with growth hormone. Doctors can use growth hormone to treat adults with the following conditions:

●Growth hormone deficiency – This is usually caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland. It can also happen as a side effect of treatment for that tumor. People who had growth hormone deficiency during childhood usually need to keep getting treatment as adults.

●Severe muscle loss from an infection called HIV or AIDS

●A bowel condition called "short bowel syndrome"

Growth hormone treatment comes as a shot that people get every day or once a week. In people with growth hormone deficiency, treatment with shots can help keep their bones, heart, and muscles healthy.

Why might healthy adults want to take growth hormone? — Healthy adults might want to take growth hormone because they might have heard or read about its possible benefits. They might have heard that athletes use it to increase muscle, and that older people use it to feel better and stay younger.

Doctors warn that there is no proof that these benefits are real. Although growth hormone might increase muscle and decrease fat, it does not make people stronger or help them perform better in sports. There is also no proof that it helps people stay young.

Should healthy adults use growth hormone? — No. Growth hormone should only be used by adults with a true growth hormone deficiency or related medical issue. Healthy adults who want to increase their muscles or decrease their body fat can often do these things by changing their diet and exercising.

There are risks associated with taking growth hormone. Growth hormone treatment has side effects that can include:

●Swelling

●Joint pain

●Increased breast size in males

●A condition that causes pain and numbness in the fingers and hands, called carpal tunnel syndrome

●Diabetes (high blood sugar)

Using growth hormone illegally has other risks, too. People who share needles to inject growth hormone can catch infections from others who have used the same needles. Also, growth hormone that is made illegally can have unknown substances in it.

What about other types of growth hormone products? — Some companies sell growth hormone (or growth hormone "releaser") pills or sprays. These products have not been proven to work. Also, when growth hormone is taken by mouth, it is changed by digestion and no longer works in the body.

More on this topic

Patient education: Pituitary adenoma (The Basics)
Patient education: Acromegaly (The Basics)
Patient education: HIV/AIDS (The Basics)
Patient education: Swelling (The Basics)
Patient education: My child is short (The Basics)
Patient education: Carpal tunnel syndrome (The Basics)

Patient education: Acromegaly (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Edema (swelling) (Beyond the Basics)