Library / Growth hormone

Somatropin

Also known as Human growth hormone, HGH, Genotropin, Norditropin, Omnitrope

Approved medicine

Recombinant human growth hormone. Approved for growth hormone deficiency in children and adults and several other specific growth disorders.

Prescription medicine. Only a prescriber can decide whether a medicine suits you and at what dose. This page is information, not a recommendation.

Background

Recombinant human growth hormone, identical to the 191 amino acid hormone made by the pituitary. Growth hormone was once extracted from the pituitaries of deceased donors, but that stopped in 1985 after cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; recombinant versions have been FDA approved since 1985.

How it is thought to work

Binds growth hormone receptors throughout the body and stimulates the liver and other tissues to make IGF-1. Together they drive bone growth in children and affect muscle, fat and glucose metabolism in adults.

What is claimed, and the evidence

Claim	Evidence	Notes
Growth failure in children due to growth hormone deficiency	Approved use	Genotropin and other labels.
Growth failure in Prader-Willi syndrome, Turner syndrome, children born small for gestational age, and idiopathic short stature	Approved use	Genotropin label (indications vary by brand and country).
Adult growth hormone deficiency	Approved use	Adult onset or childhood onset deficiency.
Anti ageing, fat loss and better skin in healthy adults	No published evidence	Reviews state benefits in healthy adults are uncertain.
Increases athletic performance or muscle strength	No published evidence	Banned in sport; reviews find uncertain benefit in healthy people and misuse is linked to harm.

Side effects

Effect	How often	Notes
Fluid retention: swelling, joint pain, muscle pain, tingling	Common	Most common in adults on the Genotropin label (peripheral swelling about 17% versus 5% on placebo); often eases with dose reduction.
Carpal tunnel syndrome	Uncommon	Label, part of fluid retention.
Injection site reactions and fat loss at the site (lipoatrophy)	Common	Label.
Headache	Common	Label.
Raised blood sugar or new diabetes Serious	Uncommon	Label warning; glucose should be monitored.
Raised pressure in the skull (intracranial hypertension) Serious	Rare	Label warning; usually reversible after stopping.
Slipped hip growth plate and worsening scoliosis in children Serious	Rare	Label warnings.
Pancreatitis Serious	Rare	Label warning.
Low thyroid or adrenal function becoming evident Serious	Uncommon	Label warnings.

Warnings

Increased deaths have been reported when started in people with acute critical illness after major surgery, trauma or respiratory failure.
Deaths have occurred in children with Prader-Willi syndrome who had severe obesity or breathing problems.
Should not be used with active cancer; childhood cancer survivors have a higher risk of second tumours.
In Australia it is Schedule 4 with extra possession controls (Appendix D); use without a prescription is illegal.
Performance use involves high doses often combined with other drugs, linked to cardiovascular, metabolic and other harms.
Counterfeit and unregulated growth hormone products may be contaminated or mislabelled.

Regulatory status

Australia: Approved (ARTG, multiple brands). Schedule 4, with Appendix D clause 5 possession controls.
United States: FDA approved (multiple brands since 1985) for growth hormone deficiency and other specified growth disorders.

Sources

Also in Growth hormone

From the VialOwl library, reviewed 26 September 2026. For education and general information. It is not medical advice and not a recommendation to use Somatropin.