Testosterone therapy lawyers at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm warn aging adults about another similar product hitting markets hard – human growth hormones, or HGH. Analysts predict these drugs will rise significantly in sales in the next few years, introducing a slew of serious health problems to American patients.
HGH drugs are biochemical agents that stimulate cell growth and division in the body, helping improve the appearance of skin, muscle tone, and other ‘anti-aging’ benefits. The drugs were traditionally prescribed to teens and children with low natural supplies of HGH to help them grow and develop normally. In recent years, healthy older adults have taken to requesting the drugs for their purported superficial benefits.
The market for these types of drugs is so large, that by 2018, officials estimate that HGH drugs will reach $4.7 billion in sales. This is similar to the trajectory of similar products marketed to men, such as AndroGel, which are known as testosterone therapy drugs.
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Like testosterone therapies, recent studies have linked synthetic hormone products to troubling and often serious health problems. One such study, published in the journal Aging Cell in February 2014, noted that replacing or supplementing hormones in aging adults may not be a positive development.
There is proof of this in the recent past. Several years ago, physicians started recommending estrogen replacement therapy for female patients aged 50 and older, to stave off the physical effects of menopause. After some time, reports of stroke and breast cancer in women prescribed to estrogen therapies started proliferating. Then, official reports began conclusively finding that these hormones were related to increased risk of cardiac events and even breast cancer development.
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Similarly, testosterone therapies like AndroGel and Testim have been subject to massive litigation after otherwise healthy male patients started suffering strokes, heart attack and cardiac death. It is becoming quite clear that the body’s supply of hormones naturally decreases. Testosterone levels subside in men, and estrogen levels decline in women. This causes a plethora of side effects, some worse than others, but it is completely natural.
As stated, the FDA originally approved synthetic growth hormones for children who had atypically low levels. Unfortunately, recent data suggests that those children who received HGH drugs during childhood actually had a 30% increased risk of early death compared to the general population.
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In adults taking HGH drugs, there is now definitive proof that the increased muscle from the drugs does not translate into actual increased strength. In other words, the muscles are all form, no function – muscles only work optimally when the neural pathways in the brain are repaired, which is beyond the scope of HGH drugs. Read more about the true nature of HGH drugs here.
Another notable risk for older adults taking HGH includes the possibility of cancer development. Type of cancer is not specified, but one group of researchers found that older people with higher growth hormone levels showed a fourfold heightened risk of cancer and 75% increase in general fatality. Overall, they concluded, human data overwhelmingly states that adults are better off not taking an HGH drug.
In essence, it is critically important for older adults considering a hormone therapy regiment to really think about their goals. For a small subset of patients, with real hormone disorders like hypogonadism, these drugs are worth the risks. For most, they simply are not.
Drug manufacturers want you to believe that “low T,” is a legitimate, curable medical disorder, when in fact it is merely a natural, normal part of the aging process. Is it worth suffering a life-threatening stroke or heart attack just to have larger muscles (which do not translate to increased strength)?
Our team of testosterone therapy lawyers hopes anyone considering HGH or T-Therapy drugs take all health factors into consideration. If you or someone you love was seriously injured while on a synthetic hormone medication, know you have legal options available to you. Manufacturers of these products know they offer minimal benefits and serious risks, and are paying for their negligence. Contact our firm with any questions. Our legal consultations are free and available to concerned patients nationwide.
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