No study previously published has demonstrated improved athletic performance through the use of HGH.
Dr. Ken Ho, Head of the Department of Endocrinology at Sydney’s St. Vincent’s Hospital, led the study. There were 96 subjects, all healthy recreational athletes aged 18 to 40. Half received HGH injections and the other half receive a placebo. In addition, Half of the male subjects were also given injections of testosterone or placebo. Participants and researchers were blind to the interventions.
After eight weeks, they found that the athlete’s ability to sprint improved with the injections of HGH, but no effect was found on their ability to jump or pull a weight. The men who also received testosterone injections found their ability to sprint nearly doubled.
Dr. Ho said, “We found the enhancement in sprint capacity would correlate to a 0.4 second improvement over 10 seconds in a 100-meter dash. This improvement could turn the last place finisher in the Olympic finals into a gold medal winner."
The effect of the HGH injections wore off after six weeks and the athletes returned to their original sprinting ability. Interestingly, those athletes who received HGH also showed reduced fat mass, but no added muscle mass. There seeme to be some side effects as those who received HGH complained more often of joint pain and swelling than those who only received the placebo.
Dr. Ho concludes, “In our study, we used doses of growth hormone on the low end of what is believed to be abuse in sports. And for that reason, we think that the real effects of growth hormone could be far greater than what's reported in our study. Equally, the side effects could be much more serious, as well."
