Anti-aging hormones may shorten human lifespan

Anti-aging hormone replacement therapy may have the opposite effect: it shortens rather than lengthens human life.

Anti-aging hormones reduce lifespan. (Source: livescience.com)

In an ongoing study of older people, those in their 90s with naturally low levels of growth hormone appear to be more likely to live to 100 than those with higher-than-average levels of growth hormone.

In other words, using growth hormone to fight aging will have the opposite effect, because it will destroy the body's natural defense mechanism against diseases of old age, said researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (New York).

The multibillion-dollar anti-aging hormone therapy industry is built on a simple premise: many hormones in the body decline markedly as people enter middle age, so supplementing them will help them look and even feel younger.

The main hormones used for anti-aging are human growth hormone (HGH), which stimulates the body to produce another insulin-like hormone called IGF-1, and DHEA, a precursor to estrogen and testosterone.

The hormone industry was sparked by a 1990 New England Journal of Medicine study of 12 men over 60 who were given human growth hormone injections. They showed some increase in muscle and bone density, while their body fat decreased. Some companies interpreted this as anti-aging, and that’s how they’ve viewed the study ever since.

However, this method comes with many side effects and countless unknowns. The author of the study, Dr. Daniel Rudman, firmly stated until his death that his research did not mention anti-aging.

In 2003, the New England Journal published an article criticizing the anti-aging industry for citing Rudman’s research so prominently in its advertising. “If people are persuaded to believe in the use of growth hormone for anti-aging on the basis of published research, they have been misled,” the article said.

It is illegal to administer human growth hormone unless a patient has low levels of the hormone; however, this diagnosis is subjective, so private clinics may recommend the treatment to people who do not need it.

Previous studies have shown that use of HGH, estrogen, and other hormones can cause cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and other diseases. New research also finds that low IGF-1 levels may be an advantage, a positive predictor of a longer life.

In the new study, scientists followed 184 men and women in their 90s for 11 years. Surprisingly, their chances of survival during the study period depended largely on the amount of IGF-1 in their blood. Every nanogram of IGF-1 per milliliter of blood decreased, meaning they lived about a week longer.

Low IGF-1 levels benefit cancer patients. Three years after the study began, 75% of the study subjects who had had cancer and had low IGF-1 levels were still alive, while only 25% of those who had had cancer and had high IGF-1 levels were.

Previously, Dr. Nir Barzilai's team, director of the Institute for Aging Research, found that people who live to 100 have a gene mutation that keeps their IGF-1 levels below average. In addition, they also found that mice can live very long and not get cancer when they are not affected by growth hormones.

The new study is consistent with a recent study in the journal Cell Metabolism that suggested lower IGF-1 levels were beneficial for middle-aged adults. That study found that people aged 50 to 65 who ate a lot of animal protein had high levels of IGF-1 and were four times more likely to die from cancer and 75 percent more likely to die over the 18-year study period.

Dr. Andrzej Bartke, an expert on the effects of hormones and genes on aging at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, said he was impressed with the new research and called it “interesting, important and timely.”

But he also said the relationship between growth hormone, IGF-1, lifespan, and disease is complex. Some previous studies have shown that low IGF-1 levels are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Bartke also noted that the study participants with low IGF-1 levels also had low blood sugar levels. This is contrary to previous studies and may be another factor that explains their longevity.

“Growth hormone melts fat and tightens skin, so appearance is improved. It can be used to maintain the so-called ‘Hollywood youthfulness’ but cannot be widely applied to the community as an anti-aging therapy,” shared Dr. Sofiya Milman, the lead author of the study./.

According to Vietnam+