Growth hormone (GH) is recognized for its capacity to enhance lean body mass, reduce fat mass, improve exercise tolerance, elevate maximum oxygen uptake, strengthen muscles, and promote linear growth. Despite its numerous benefits, long-term studies on GH administration have yielded conflicting safety results, leading to stringent criteria set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for GH use. Researchers attribute potential drawbacks of exogenous GH use to impaired regulatory feedback mechanisms.
Objective: This review aims to analyze the literature on growth hormone (GH) and its secretagogues (GHS), encompassing peptides that stimulate GH release and the orally available small-molecule drug, ibutamoren mesylate.
Methods: A comprehensive review of clinical studies investigating the safety and efficacy of GHS in human subjects.
Main Outcome Measure: A report detailing physiological changes resulting from GHS use in humans, including an assessment of its safety profile.
Results: GHSs facilitate pulsatile GH release, subject to negative feedback, preventing supra-therapeutic levels of GH and associated complications. While limited long-term, rigorously controlled studies have explored the efficacy and safety of GHS, existing evidence suggests potential benefits, such as improved growth velocity in children, enhanced appetite stimulation, increased lean mass in wasting states and obese individuals, reduced bone turnover, heightened fat-free mass, and improved sleep. GHSs appear to be well-tolerated, with some concerns regarding increased blood glucose levels due to decreased insulin sensitivity.
Conclusion: Further research is crucial for a deeper understanding of the long-term effects of GHS on human anatomy and physiology, especially within diverse clinical scenarios. Additionally, comprehensive evaluations of these compounds’ safety with prolonged use, including assessments of cancer incidence and mortality, are imperative.