Growth hormone stimulators help older adults

Substance which stimulates the secretion of growth hormone can help older adults improve their physical function and reduce your body fat percentage which will be presented at the International Congress of Neuroendocrinology in Pittsburgh, according to the study results. The results are by Dr. George Merriam, Professor of medicine at the University of Washington and a doctor with health care VA Puget Sound. Coordinate helped Merriam endocrine aspects of this multi-site study, together with Dr. Heidi white from Duke University and researcher at Pfizer, Inc. almost 400 adults from 65 to 84 years of age were enrolled in the study, and a placebo or one of the four different levels of an oral growth hormone secretagogue (GHS) which stimulates the secretion of human growth hormone were divided into groups receive. Researchers measured the participants fat and muscle mass (muscle) as your performance in the physical tests such as stair climbing and walking heel-to-toe. Participants were given the level of growth hormone and a composite IGF-1, a hormone that reacts to growth hormone and conveys some of the impact called blood tests. GHS treatment participants saw a significant increase in the non-fatty matter - 1.5 kg or 3.3 pounds. The GHS treatment led to improved physical function in the six - to 12 - month study period. The participants had higher growth hormone and IGF-1 in their Bloodstreams. Patients had the GHS treatment minor side effects, including increased fatigue, insomnia, and fasting blood sugar levels. Growth hormone is growth and production of the hormone crucial childhood Summit during puberty. However, it continues to affect physical function in our lifetime and regulates metabolism and body composition. As middle-aged adults move begins growth hormone production taper off. Many of the effects of aging - abdominal fat, reduced muscle mass and decreased physical function - look very similar as the symptoms of growth hormone deficiency in younger people. As this aging effects in set, many older adults find it difficult to care for yourself and you lose quality of life and often turn to long-term care. "If we had something that could reduce the drop off in physical function, we could improve the quality of life for older adults, and reduce the costs of long-term care, said Merriam.""What we want to do is take the steep curve of the physical function, that decrease with age, and shall keep a much flatter decrease or even a plateau, so more physical mobility and strength as instead people of deteriorating age." Researchers study the aging process believe that growth hormone and IGF-1 can be two of the most important connections to regulate, the effects of aging and that the stimulus could help production of hormones prevent these effects. Other studies have shown that treatment can increase the levels of growth hormone and IGF-1, and can help improve a patient's body composition. This study is the first to show not only the physical function stability, but improving. "This is a proof of concept that can help GHS with body composition and physical function," said Merriam. "Very encouraging results, and we should consider further whether GHS can help in the long term, some to mitigate the negative effects of aging." However, he added that many steps remain to determine whether this concept could be converted to an effective and safe treatment. The GHS was used in the study discovered and developed by Pfizer Global research and development, and is only available for research, not as a prescription or over-the-counter traded drug. This study researchers at Stanford University, the University of Arkansas, included the University of Washington and Duke University sites Johns Hopkins University and the Veterans Affairs healthcare system. The research was supported by Pfizer, Inc. Note: this research in a press conference Wednesday at 21, at the International Congress of Neuroendocrinology in Pittsburgh featured will. Reporter can also participate in the press conference via telephone conference. For more information about the session and visit press conference:
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