Growth Hormones Retain Seniors' Muscles

A daily dose of an oral drug that stimulates release of
growth hormone helps retain muscle in healthy older adults, reversing part of
the normal aging process, a new study shows.

Researchers at the University of Virginia conducted a two-year study of 65
healthy older adults, giving some an oral ghrelin mimetic, or MK-677, and
others a placebo.

Volunteers between 60 and 81 who received MK-677, a drug provided by Merck
Research Laboratories, experienced increased growth hormone levels to those
seen in young adults.

Michael Thorner, MB, BS, DSc, and Ralf Nass, MD, of the University of
Virginia, tell WebMD that blood sugar increased in people taking the new drug,
and the body's sensitivity to insulin decreased slightly.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether stimulating growth hormone
altered body composition -- and it did, Thorner tells WebMD.

"They also gained muscle mass in the limbs, which declines in the normal
aging process," Thorner says. "On MK-677, they didn't lose any muscle
mass. The limb fat increased as well. Appetite was enhanced. We were very
surprised."

Body Weight and Body Fat

At 12 months, body weight increased 1.76 pounds in the placebo group vs.
5.95 pounds in those taking the test drug. Total body fat did not differ
significantly. Quality-of-life measures also did not differ significantly
between the two groups.

"We found a mild decrease of LDL, the bad cholesterol," Nass says.
"There was a mild decrease in insulin sensitivity. But allowing muscle mass
to increase is a positive effect."

The side effects were not significant, Thorner says, with the most frequent
being minor swelling in the feet, ankles, and legs, temporary muscle pain, and
increased appetite.

Nass says the goal of researchers is to determine definitively "whether
there are some interventions that could help with some aspects of the aging
process."

Thorner says there's no hope that the Merck pill will hit the market soon
because "we need a study that would involve thousands of people."

He cautions against "hyperbole" about the study, funded by the
National Institutes of Health, but says "preventing people getting more
frail could be important. You'd have to take the pill, exercise, and have the
right diet."

Lawrence Phillips, MD, a professor of medicine at Emory University in
Atlanta, also cautioned against interpreting the results too optimistically,
but calls the results "promising."

The pill "seemed to do the things that growth hormone given as an
injection does," he tells WebMD. "Since [the pill] does have the same
kinds of benefits and generally was safe, this is promising."

Thorner says if such a pill ever hits the market, he says, it'll be good
news because a rising population of frail people "is going to become a
major burden on the country."

Such a pill "potentially" could result in preventing older people
from becoming so frail, Thorner says.

"If I look into a crystal ball 50 years from now, people will be taking
drugs like this in the same way they take vitamins today," Thorner tells
WebMD. "We hope this will extend health, the amount of time one lives in a
healthy way. This has great potential for baby boomers."

By Bill Hendrick
Reviewed by Louise Chang
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