Does vision improve with restoration of HGH levels? This is something of interest to me, because I know for a fact, vision deterioration in the middle aged and beyond happens almost like clockwork that it has become a standard delimiter of age.
The common stereotype of old people with bad eyesight did not come about out of the blue. As the eye ages, changes occur to it that can be attributed solely to the aging process, but the decline is always so gradual, it isn’t noticeable until it is too late.
What happens is the loss of eyesight health among the elderly is one of the most marked and significant changes to happen to any aging person. Vision deterioration instantly diminishes the quality of life for anyone. Cataracts and glaucoma are well known, but these are just a few problems besetting the elderly. The most common changes are hardening of the pupils – preventing proper dilation capability. In addition, the muscles governing the focusing of the eye also start to atrophy with age.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is said to be a leading cause of blindness in the world. 15 million people in America have some form of AMD and almost 2 million of them can be classified as “serious.” In Age-Related Macular Degeneration, the cells behind the retina degenerate, in turn causing the fovea cones (area in the center of the macula) to die, leading to loss of vision. There are two forms of this eye disorder, dry AMD, and wet AMD. AMD is virtually untreatable at present, although the wet form can be treated with limited success using a variety of methods, including surgery (risky).
Some advice in mitigating AMD:
- Take lots of antioxidant vitamins and minerals
- Experiment with herbs that improve blood circulation, like gingko biloba
- Quit smoking if you smoke – it’s really bad for the eyes
- Lose the excess weight if you’re overweight
Another age related eye problem is night blindness. This is because old people already have diminished capacity to allow light into their eyes. Night blindness is the result of an acute stage of eye degeneration where the eyes are unable to take in much light; thus a kind blindness develops in dark/ low light situations.
So, if growth hormone can reverse the age related degeneration of eyesight, and actually improve vision, it would be another notch in its cap. There is no doubt that growth hormone, or rather IGF-1, is involved with the development of a baby’s vision in the womb. But in this case, IGF-1 was found crucial in preventing ROP, or retinopathy of prematurity. Would HGH exert strong influence in cases of age related eye problems – in adults?
Since Age-Related Macular Degeneration is prevalent amongst the aged and aging, can growth hormone therapy help? At present, there is some anecdotal evidence that HGH does help. But, I must add that these cases are mostly undocumented personal accounts from HGH users. At present, there does not seem to be hard, lab evidence that growth hormone can serve as a cure. But, there are scattered cases of people with AMD that found that, after taking growth hormone, their vision was saved, and their eyesight actually improved. Personally, I would love to investigate this a lot further.
A sword cuts both ways as well. On the other hand, there is also evidence that HGH causes or exacerbates diabetic retinopathy, a condition affecting the eyes of diabetic patients, and which can lead to blindness. In experiments, doctors have actually found that using HGH antagonists (blocking HGH), actually helped prevent the onset of the disease, or helped in treating it. Diabetics, please keep this in mind.
In summary for now, I’d have to say that as far as vision and age related eye problems are concerned; the jury is still out on this. Many websites just spout the claim that HGH improves vision without providing any hard evidence for it. Perhaps, vision improvements can be so subtle, that most patients or users undergoing HGH therapy probably never ever notice the difference and don’t report it very often. Age related macular degeneration is a serious problem afflicting many senior people, with no established cure in sight. Therefore, there should be a more concerted effort in medical science to determine if growth hormone can successfully treat this condition. In macular degeneration, the role of HGH as a viable form of treatment remains (as yet), an area worth investigating in more detail.
