Many hollywood stars turn to injectable HGH (human growth hormone) and other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) amid the ever-competitive world of looking great at any age.
With its fountain-of-youth promise, HGH quietly has become the substance of choice for Tinseltown denizens looking to quickly burn fat, boost energy and even improve complexion. The drug costs up to $3,000 a month. Taken along with steroids ($50 to $150 per month), to help build muscle, the results can be startling.
Hollywood trainer Happy Hill, who has helped sculpt Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Phillippe, estimates that some 20 percent of actors use PEDs to bulk up and define.
In 2007, Sylvester Stallone was busted for bringing 48 vials of HGH into Australia. Tyler Perry and 50 Cent were among a group of celebrities whose names surfaced in connection with a steroid investigation in New York in 2008. The Albany Times Union reported that Perry and 50 Cent allegedly ordered performance-enhancing drugs from doctors and pharmacists who were targeted in a statewide probe.
A 2012 study conducted by the University of Minnesota found that teens are using steroids and muscle-enhancing substances at higher rates than previously thought. Nearly 6 percent of boys in the survey reported using steroids, while the rate among girls was 4.6 percent.
Botox is a $2.5 billion a year industry. There are over 4 million botox patients worldwide.
Stallone has credited a combination of prescription testosterone and HGH with adding 41-pounds
Antiaging could deliver more youthful appearance and actual increased youth
In 2013, longevity studies showed that
* Metformin increases lifespan in Mice by 5.83% when started in middle age mice
* Reveratrol improves health but is not showing a significant increase in lifespan
* Rapamycin suppresses cancer tumors, Rapamycin life extension is because the mice do not die early from cancer
Rapamycin inhibited age-related weight gain, decreased aging rate, increased lifespan (especially in the last survivors) and delayed spontaneous cancer. 22.9% of rapamycin-treated mice survived the age of death of the last mouse in control group.
Metformin seems to have some life extending effects but now much in humans is not known. Metformin is available in the Canary Islands without prescription.
Clearly millions to tens of millions of people will try to use Metformin, Rapamycin and gene therapy in attempts to have longer lives or just to look more youthful for longer.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.