HGH with Insulin

The receipt

Evidence on the combination

Controlled trials

Zucchini et al., 2014 · Liu et al., 2011

What each does alone

• Muscle & strength · Daily shotHGHHormoneAnti-aging clinics sell it for body composition. That story began with 12 men in a 1990 study.Approved drugFDA approvedChecked Oct 5
• Libido & hormones · Daily shotInsulinHormone8 million Americans need it for diabetes; some bodybuilders inject it for size. Misuse can kill.Approved drugFDA approvedHypoglycemia can be fatalChecked Oct 18

Mechanism overlap · reasoning, not evidence

HGH

Hormone — Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH)

Insulin

Hormone — Pancreatic Peptide Hormone

Reasoning, not evidence: what each is described to do says nothing about what they do together.

What the studies found

Children with type 1 diabetes and growth problems (Zucchini et al., 2014)

• What was given — A survey of Italian centres: 29 of 42 usually avoided combining GH and insulin; 17 treated children were found.
• What it found — In the 8 children who started GH after diabetes, the insulin dose rose from 0.7 to 1.0 U/kg in the first 6 months (p = 0.004); HbA1c did not change, and GH promoted growth in most.
• Limits — 17 children, no control group.

After gastrointestinal cancer surgery (Liu et al., 2011)

• What was given — 100 patients randomized to standard nutrition with insulin, or low-calorie nutrition with insulin after pre-treatment with rhGH and octreotide.
• What it found — The authors report more protein synthesis, better immune function, fewer infections and shorter hospital stays in the GH group.
• Limits — GH was given with octreotide, so its own effect can't be separated.

Neither study tested GH with insulin for muscle building.