Scientific overview of hormone treatment used for rejuvenation

Fertility and Sterility. Volume 99, Issue 7 , Pages 1807-1813, June 2013
John E. Morley, M.B., B.Ch. morley at slu.edu
Division of Geriatric Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

A search for a hormonal fountain of youth has been hotly pursued over the last century, predominately by those who wish to market hormones to a gullible public. There is little or no benefit of hormone replacement in persons who do not have a hormone deficiency. Overall, the present state of the art suggests that the findings have been disappointing.

In persons who fail to get adequate sunlight, and therefore have low vitamin D levels, vitamin D replacement appears to have positive effects, including decreasing mortality.

Testosterone in hypogonadal males has a number of positive effects such as improving libido and erectile capacity, increasing strength and bone mineral density, and perhaps having a small effect on cognition. These effects need to be balanced against long-term side effects, the evidence for which studies are lacking.

There is little evidence to recommend DHEA, pregnenolone, growth hormone, ghrelin, or melatonin to older persons.

Overall, exercise, adequate exposure to sunlight, and adequate dietary protein appear to have at least as positive an effect as any of the hormones being used to rejuvenate older persons.

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See also VitaminDWiki

• Overview Pain and Vitamin D
• Overview Seniors and Vitamin D
• Seniors with higher vitamin D levels have better physical performance – Sept 2012
• Vitamin D aids the aging skin – Sept 2012
• 80 year olds had better cognition and stood better if high level of vitamin D – Sept 2012
• Vitamin D Omega 3 and Exercise are being used in controlled trial to support healthy ageing – Feb 2012
• "Sunlight Officers" in some Australian senior facilities - Sept 2011
• Vitamin D and Chronic Pain: Promising Correlates - July 2012
• Quality of Life
• Vitamin D reduced skeletal pain in 85 percent of the patients – Nov 2012
• Vitamin D and Cancer Mortality – review Jan 2013
• Low levels of vitamin D associated with all cause mortality – Oct 2012
• Death rate reduced 8 percent for 8 nanogram more vitamin D – meta-analysis Feb 2012
• All items in Mortality and vitamin D 321 items

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