Research

Hormonal

Simultaneous administration of Growth Hormone (GH) and Insulin-like Growth Factor I (IGF-I) produces significantly greater nitrogen retention (anabolism) than either agent administered alone.

For individuals in a catabolic state (e.g., severe caloric restriction), using Growth Hormone and IGF-I together yields significantly better muscle preservation than using either hormone alone. The combination not only maximizes nitrogen retention but also stabilizes blood glucose levels, mitigating the hypoglycemic risk of IGF-I and the hyperglycemic risk of GH. This suggests that combination therapy is superior for treating severe catabolism, though it requires careful medical supervision due to the potency of both agents.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
These results suggest that the combination of GH and IGF-I treatment is substantially more anabolic than either IGF-I or GH alone.
Stuart Kupfer et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 1993

Why this rating

Randomized, controlled, crossover trial in healthy humans, though with a small sample size (n=7).

Source

Enhancement of the anabolic effects of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor I by use of both agents simultaneously.

Stuart Kupfer et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 1993

DOI 10.1172/jci116212

crossover · n=7Cited 338×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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