GHRH & Cognition

Hormone Shots Aid Cognition in Older Adults

By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today

Published: August 06, 2012

Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Action Points

• Growth hormon-releasing hormone, growth hormone, and insulin-like growth factor 1 have potent effects on brain function and their levels decrease with advancing age. This study was designed to examine the effects of GHRH on cognitive function in healthy older adults and in adults with mild cognitive impairment.
• Note that this randomized, placebo-controlled trial showed a favorable effect of GHRH in the short-term on cognition including executive function.

Daily shots of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) improved cognition in both healthy adults and those with mild cognitive impairment, researchers reported.

In a five-month randomized trial, the substance, given subcutaneously, was associated with a significant improvement in cognitive performance compared with placebo, according to Laura Baker, PhD, of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, and colleagues.

The benefit was driven by significantly better executive function and a trend toward better verbal memory, although visual memory was not changed, the group reported online inArchives of Neurology.

GHRH stimulates release of growth hormone from the pituitary, in a pulsatile fashion, which in turn causes the release of insulin-like growth factor 1 from the liver, the researchers noted.

All three "have potent effects on brain function, their levels decrease with advancing age, and they likely play a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease," Baker and colleagues wrote.

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Primary source: Archives of Neurology
Source reference:
Baker LD, et al "Effects of growth hormone–releasing hormone on cognitive function in adults with mild cognitive impairment and healthy older adults: Results of a controlled trial" Arch Neurol 2012; 69(8): 1-10.