The Enigmatic Role of Growth Hormone in Age-related Diseases, Cognition, and Longevity

Overview

Journal Geroscience

Specialty Geriatrics

Date 2019 Sep 6

PMID 31485887

Citations 21

Authors

Gabriela Colon

Tatiana Saccon

Augusto Schneider

Marcelo B Cavalcante

Derek M Huffman

Darlene Berryman

Ed List

Yuji Ikeno

Nicolas Musi

Andrzej Bartke

John Kopchick

James L Kirkland

Tamara Tchkonia

Michal M Masternak

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Growth hormone (GH) is secreted by the anterior pituitary gland and regulates various metabolic processes throughout the body. GH and IGF-1 levels are markedly reduced in older humans, leading some to hypothesize GH supplementation could be a viable "anti-aging" therapy. However, there is still much debate over the benefits and risks of GH administration. While an early study of GH administration reported reduced adiposity and lipid levels and increased bone mineral density, subsequent studies failed to show significant benefits. Conversely, other studies found positive effects of GH deficiency including extended life span, improved cognitive function, resistance to diseases such as cancer and diabetes, and improved insulin sensitivity despite a higher fat percentage. Thus, the roles of GH in aging and cognition remain unclear, and there is currently not enough evidence to support use of GH as an anti-aging or cognitive impairment therapy. Additional robust and longer-duration studies of efficacy and safety of GH administration are needed to determine if modulating GH levels could be a successful strategy for treating aging and age-related diseases.

Citing Articles

Effects of growth hormone-releasing hormone deficiency in mice beyond growth.

Recinella L, Libero M, Brunetti L, Acquaviva A, Chiavaroli A, Orlando G Rev Endocr Metab Disord. 2024; .

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Non-pituitary growth hormone enables colon cell senescence evasion.

Chesnokova V, Zonis S, Apaydin T, Barrett R, Melmed S Aging Cell. 2024; 23(8):e14193.

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Deletion of hepatic growth hormone receptor (GHR) alters the mouse gut microbiota by affecting bile acid metabolism.

Yu Z, Wang Y, Zhang F, Ma R, Yang X, Yang K Gut Microbes. 2023; 15(1):2221098.

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Non-pituitary GH regulation of the tissue microenvironment.

Chesnokova V, Melmed S Endocr Relat Cancer. 2023; 30(7).

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Cell non-autonomous regulation of cerebrovascular aging processes by the somatotropic axis.

Bickel M, Csik B, Gulej R, Ungvari A, Nyul-Toth A, Conley S Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023; 14():1087053.

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