Some argue that hGH concerns are on steroids
This human growth hormone business doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon. The investigation out of Albany, N.Y., that centers on clinics throughout Florida is like peeling layers of a very large onion, and it appears there will be a lot more tears before it's all over. New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison has already been tagged (and suspended for four games) and the name of St. Louis Cardinals oufielder Rick Ankiel (who had been a baseball feel-good story this season) has just surfaced.
Meanwhile, in this article from Slate from back in March, the argument is made that the human growth hormone issue is overblown and that the substance is being unfairly categorized along with anabolic steroids in either enhancing athletic performance or causing serious harm to people who take it.
I'm not vouching for the science here, but it's an interesting read. Thanks to Sun colleague Rick Maese for pointing it out.
Comments
bill:
i've read the slate piece and it's woefully off base. with all due respect to mr engber, he falls prey to one of the classic blunders of reporting with regard to performance enhancing drugs; he relies too much on clinical studies. the second huge error is invoking the "mental edge/placebo effect" issue, which is the PED equivalent of saying curve balls really don't curve and that it's an optical illusion.
you might think that i'm crazy for saying this, but it's true nevertheless as most of the "proof" that speaks to steroids and hgh's efficacy is based on what the guy in the gym has done. you see, legit science is bound by the constraints of ethics. the guys in the street aren't and are free to use these drugs in whatever way they are willing to see if they work.
the genius of the balco labs scheme was that conte and company developed drugs based on existing drugs that couldn't be detected. these drugs had never been studied in a real research lab, but had been studied in the lab of athletics. i personally know guys who were among the first to take cadaver-derived hgh back in the early 1980s. guys are willing to do crazy things to get an edge.
i've included an item that i wrote that provides some more details about hgh.
http://www.healthandfitnessadvice.com/the-healthy-skeptic/the-healthy-skeptic-human-growth-hormone-and-pro-athletes-perfect-together.html
i also suggest you google dr lee sweeney to find his comments on hgh and the future of sport doping. it's real eye opening stuff and when you consider he made these comments about 4 or 5 years ago it'll give you an idea as to where we're headed with all of this. actualy i just found the link among my favorite places...
http://www.bioethics.gov/transcripts/sep02/session7.html
thanks for your time.
sal
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Sal,
Thanks for your thoughful note and for supplying those URLs so that others interested in the issue can learn about other perspectives.
As I signed off at the end of that item, I made sure to say that I couldn't vouch for the science for this very reason. If accused of ignorance concerning the scientific and clinical specifics of performance-enchancing drugs, I plead guilty. I'll be looking at those suggested URLs to become better educated. Again, my gratitude for you contribution.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: sal marinello | September 7, 2007 2:06 PM