Dean, H. (2002). Does exogenous growth hormone improve athletic performance? Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 12, 250-253.

"OBJECTIVE: To conduct a critical appraisal of the literature to address the question of whether human growth hormone (HGH) improves performance in trained athletes. DATA SOURCES: Used PubMed using the search terms of "growth hormone athletes" and the reference lists of previous reviews of the subject. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study of exogenous HGH on muscle power in trained athletes. Only one study matched the search criteria. CONCLUSION: There is no evidence of increased muscle strength with HGH in trained athletes".

Implication. While it is popular to talk of using human growth hormone as a performance enhancer, the majority of the scientific evidence does not support such a postulation.

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