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The study volunteers who took growth hormone lost body fat and gained lean body mass, but it was mostly from water retention, not from bulking up muscle, the researchers reported in Tuesday's issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Side effects included swelling and joint pain.
The researchers noted some limitations. They couldn't test the hormone in elite athletes for ethical reasons, and they used a smaller dose for a shorter time than reported for illegal use. Larger doses and longer use might have more impact and more serious side effects, they said.
"It's not a trivial thing to do a study like this. I think they did a very good job," said Dr. Andrew Hoffman of Stanford University, who was involved in a 2008 review of growth hormone research.
The director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which helped pay for the study, said the results aren't surprising to him and will disprove skeptics who don't think the hormone helps.
"There's been a huge amount of anecdotal evidence to indicate that it is of advantage, and a huge number of athletes have used it," said David Howman in a teleconference from Montreal.
Dr. Gary Wadler, who heads the committee that decides the agency's banned-substances list, said growth hormone usually isn't used alone. He said he's concerned that athletes will use the small boost from growth hormone to keep their testosterone use below detectable levels.
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