Human growth hormone made as a medicine. Approved products treat specific growth disorders and diagnosed hormone deficiency.
5-minute readFull profile reviewed July 31, 2026
Evidence is explained by question. Dosing references show their own check dates.
60-second overview
Somatropin (HGH) at a glance
Why people look into it, what studies found, and what is still unknown.
Why people look into it
Replacing missing growth hormone, alongside broader questions about aging and body composition.
What studies found
Studies support defined replacement uses. In healthy-aging studies, body-composition changes did not reliably improve physical function and came with more side effects.
Educational information only. Evidence reviewed through July 31, 2026. Published studies, sponsor announcements, and trials without results are labeled separately. Evidence gaps apply to the specific finding beside them.
Research questions
Why people research it
Each label shows how much evidence supports that question.
Pediatric growth failure in approved product-specific indicationsApproved use
Adult growth hormone deficiency replacementApproved use
Body composition in confirmed adult GH deficiencySupported by human studies
Bone density in confirmed adult GH deficiencySupported by human studies
General anti-aging or longevityNot demonstrated
Bodybuilding or athletic enhancementNot demonstrated
Routine fat loss in healthy adultsNot demonstrated
What studies show
What the evidence supports
The research behind the answer
Multiple FDA-approved product programs and controlled replacement trials support somatropin for defined pediatric growth disorders and adult growth hormone deficiency; evidence and labeling are indication- and product-specific.
See each finding and its sources (7)
Mechanistic rationale
Somatropin is recombinant human growth hormone with a 191-amino-acid sequence corresponding to pituitary human GH.
Unlike secretagogues, somatropin directly supplies growth hormone and activates the GH receptor systemically.
Product formulations, devices, excipients, concentrations, and handling instructions remain product-specific even when the active protein is somatropin.
Multiple somatropin products are FDA approved for defined pediatric growth disorders and adult growth hormone deficiency, but exact indications vary by product.
Genotropin, Humatrope, Norditropin, Omnitrope, and Zomacton do not all carry identical indication lists, devices, strengths, or preparation instructions.
An indication or instruction from one brand must not be automatically transferred to another somatropin presentation.
In adults with diagnosed growth hormone deficiency, controlled replacement studies support improvements in body composition and selected quality-of-life or bone outcomes.
Replacement is intended to restore a deficient hormone axis under clinical monitoring, not to push healthy physiology above normal ranges.
Benefits vary across studies and endpoints, and fluid retention and other adverse effects require individualized monitoring and dose adjustment.
Peer reviewedBody composition and quality-of-life outcomes
Peer reviewedBone density and body-composition outcomes
Controlled human study
Healthy-aging trials found modest body-composition changes but did not establish reliable functional improvement or an acceptable routine anti-aging benefit-risk profile.
More lean mass on a scan did not consistently mean more strength, endurance, cognition, or independence.
Healthy-aging trials were generally small and short, but their lack of functional benefit and increased adverse events directly limit anti-aging claims.
Peer reviewedBody composition versus functional outcomes
Current somatropin labels warn about risks including acute critical illness, active malignancy, glucose intolerance or diabetes, intracranial hypertension, fluid retention, hypothyroidism, hypoadrenalism, and pediatric orthopedic complications.
Somatropin is a biologically active prescription hormone, not a low-risk wellness supplement.
Individual contraindications and monitoring requirements differ by patient and product; Relay does not assess personal suitability.
Current somatropin labels warn about risks including acute critical illness, active malignancy, glucose intolerance or diabetes, intracranial hypertension, fluid retention, hypothyroidism, hypoadrenalism, and pediatric orthopedic complications.
Other human evidence
Individual contraindications and monitoring requirements differ by patient and product; Relay does not assess personal suitability.
Current somatropin labels warn about risks including acute critical illness, active malignancy, glucose intolerance or diabetes, intracranial hypertension, fluid retention, hypothyroidism, hypoadrenalism, and pediatric orthopedic complications.
Other human evidence
Individual contraindications and monitoring requirements differ by patient and product; Relay does not assess personal suitability.
Missing reports do not establish safety. Findings apply to the product, route, amounts, population, comparison, and follow-up studied.
Side-effect frequency, study withdrawals, and gaps
How often side effects occurred
The available information does not reliably show how often particular side effects occur.
Evidence boundary
Under-detected or under-reported events must not be described as rare.
Why people stopped in studies
Relay has not verified which side effects led people to stop treatment in studies.
Evidence boundary
This is an evidence gap, not proof that discontinuations did not occur.
Emergency instructions
This profile does not contain verified, product-specific emergency instructions.
Evidence boundary
Relay does not infer emergency guidance from study discontinuations, mechanism, or incomplete adverse-event reporting.
Dosing references
Dosing & preparation
Each table labels its source and applies only to the named route, product, or study. An online example or community report is not an approved dose.
Route: SubQ · Under the skin
Approved product · U.S. prescribing informationWhat this means
Instructions from the named approved product’s prescribing information. They apply to its stated formulation, route, use, and population.
Somatropin · Humatrope adult GHD label
This is the non-weight-based option for adults with diagnosed growth hormone deficiency, with clinician-directed monitoring.
Label starting dose
Approximately 0.2 mg/day; range 0.15–0.3
Frequency
Daily
Treatment period
Individualized replacement therapy
Somatropin · Humatrope adult GHD label
Stage / period
Amount in source
Frequency
Individualized replacement therapy
Approximately 0.2 mg/day; range 0.15–0.3
Daily
The label describes increases of approximately 0.1–0.2 mg/day every 1–2 months according to individual requirements. This is not a bodybuilding regimen or a pediatric schedule.
Humatrope has presentation-specific vial and cartridge instructions. Use the supplied diluent and complete instructions for that exact presentation; do not apply one generic mixing volume to all somatropin.
Concentration = total mass ÷ final volume. The calculator performs user-entered math; it does not choose a dose or diluent.
Somatropin is a recombinant 191-amino-acid human growth hormone that directly activates the GH receptor and downstream JAK2-STAT and IGF-1 signaling. Licensed U.S. products include both ready-to-use solutions and lyophilized presentations with product-specific delivery systems. In diagnosed adult GH deficiency, randomized studies support changes in body composition, quality of life, and selected bone outcomes. In healthy older adults, trials and systematic review show modest lean-mass and fat-mass changes without consistent functional improvement and with increased edema, arthralgia, carpal-tunnel symptoms, gynecomastia, and glucose abnormalities. Approved deficiency and pediatric-growth evidence must not be generalized to anti-aging or athletic use.
Why this matters
A plausible mechanism can explain why a study was attempted. It does not prove that the compound improves a human outcome.
Signals and targets
Growth hormone receptor (GHR)
Proposed biological steps
Growth hormone receptor agonism
JAK2-STAT signaling
Hepatic and tissue IGF-1 production
Effects on linear growth, protein turnover, lipolysis, glucose metabolism, and bone remodeling
Research reference
How mature is the evidence?
A reference for the studies, populations, and routes behind this profile.
Research depthExtensive approved human record
Multiple labels and decades of controlled research cover defined pediatric and adult deficiency indications.
Why this matters
Research depth describes how large and mature the overall record is. It does not tell you whether the results were positive.
Evidence confidenceVery high for approved indications
Benefits and risks are well characterized in specific diagnosed populations, not bodybuilding or healthy aging.
Why this matters
Confidence describes how reliable and consistent the conclusions are. It can be high for one outcome and low for another.
Strongest evidenceMultiple FDA-approved programs and controlled replacement trialsWhy this matters
The strongest evidence type shows what the best-supported conclusions are actually based on.
Human evidenceStrong and mature for defined deficiency and pediatric indicationsWhy this matters
Human findings are more directly relevant than animal or laboratory results, but they still apply only to the populations and outcomes studied.
Route studiedAdministration of protocol-specific recombinant human growth hormone
Schedules studiedReplacement exposure defined by the clinical study protocol; 12 months total
Amounts studiedWithheld: this record provides research context without a transferable amountWhy this matters
These are exposures used in cited research for a specific route and population—not an instruction for an individual.
Half-lifeNot established for this exact editorial recordWhy this matters
Half-life describes how long it takes the measured amount in the body to fall by half. It is not a dosing recommendation.
Route evidenceA controlled replacement trial studied adults with confirmed growth-hormone deficiency caused by pituitary disease.Why this matters
Evidence can change by administration method. Findings from one route should not automatically be applied to another.
Evidence boundary: The findings apply to diagnosed deficiency under monitored replacement. They do not establish benefit in healthy adults, athletes, anti-aging use, or interchangeability among approved and unapproved products. Amounts shown describe cited research exposure—not a dosage recommendation.
Studies
Study-by-study record
Study arms are reported for transparency. They describe what researchers did in a defined record and do not transfer across identities, routes, formulations, or populations.
Why this matters
A later trial phase can ask a more mature question, but it does not guarantee a positive result, regulatory approval, or relevance outside the studied population.
Controlled human studyPeer reviewed
Growth hormone deficiency in adults: effects of replacement therapy on body composition and health-related quality of life
Six-month double-blind randomized placebo-controlled period followed by open treatment
Adults with hypopituitarism and confirmed growth hormone deficiency
Outcomes measured
Fat-free mass
Fat mass
Total body water
Quality of life
Safety
What was reported
In adults with genuine GH deficiency, replacement increased fat-free mass, decreased fat mass, and improved selected quality-of-life measures. Fluid retention was the principal reported adverse effect and improved after dose reduction.
Study administration and important limits
Study administration: Protocol-specific recombinant human growth hormone replacement or placebo
Limitations: Findings apply to diagnosed adult GH deficiency under monitored replacement. They do not establish benefit in healthy adults, athletes, or anti-aging use.
Controlled human studyPeer reviewed
Growth hormone and sex steroid administration in healthy aged women and men: a randomized controlled trial
Randomized placebo-controlled factorial trial of GH and sex steroids
Healthy older women and men
Outcomes measured
Lean mass
Fat mass
Strength
Aerobic capacity
Adverse events
What was reported
GH increased lean mass and reduced fat mass, but strength and aerobic benefits were inconsistent. Edema, arthralgias, carpal-tunnel symptoms, diabetes, and glucose intolerance were more frequent in GH-treated groups.
Study administration and important limits
Study administration: Protocol-specific recombinant GH, sex steroids, combinations, or placebo
Limitations: Combined-hormone arms complicate attribution, and frequent adverse effects make the trial unsuitable as support for routine anti-aging use.
Controlled human studyPeer reviewed
Effects of physiologic growth hormone therapy on bone density and body composition in patients with adult-onset growth hormone deficiency
Randomized placebo-controlled study with IGF-1-guided dose adjustment
32 men with adult-onset growth hormone deficiency
Outcomes measured
Lumbar-spine bone density
Femoral-neck bone density
Body fat
Lean mass
Safety
What was reported
Replacement increased bone-density measures and lean mass and reduced body fat in men with adult-onset GH deficiency.
Study administration and important limits
Study administration: Physiologic recombinant GH replacement or placebo
Limitations: Small selected deficiency population. The result cannot be generalized to healthy people or converted into bodybuilding or anti-aging expectations.
Controlled human studyPeer reviewed
Growth hormone replacement in healthy older men improves body composition but not functional ability
DurationMean treatment duration about 27 weeks across included trials
Design and population
Systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Community-dwelling adults with mean age at least 50 years and no disease-specific GH indication
Outcomes measured
Body composition
Weight
Lipids
Bone density
Adverse events
What was reported
Across 18 study populations, GH produced small average reductions in fat mass and increases in lean mass without meaningful weight change, while edema, arthralgias, carpal-tunnel syndrome, gynecomastia, and glucose abnormalities were more common.
Study administration and important limits
Study administration: Recombinant GH versus no GH or lifestyle-control comparisons
Limitations: Most studies were small and heterogeneous. The review concluded that GH could not be recommended as anti-aging therapy.
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