It came out in the news this week that Anna Nicole Smith was taking HGH or human growth hormones for weight loss and muscle development purposes.

HGH was also discovered and bags on by Sylvester Stallone and Austro you over a week ago.  This drug appears to be the drug of choice not only for baseball players and athletes but now for actors and models chasing after the fountain of youth.  Re: moving away from a system where people attempt to burn off their calories with drugs such as  Ephedra in order to lose weight?

There are some side effects reported with use of HGH such as an increased growth of the jaw, which if you look at Sylvester Stallone these days and you'll get older pictures of the actor you may wonder...

You might also wonder if the drug actually works.  Can a drug that can allow a baseball player to continue in the major leagues for five to 10 years after their prime would normally be over really be all that bad?

Can the side effects be alleviated?  I'm not advocating the use of steroids, but I am in favor of finding drugs at allow people to live longer happier lives.  Is it so bad to suffer from some side effects and live an extra 10 years?  For that matter is it worth living in extra 10 years with stronger muscles and stronger bones such that you don't break a hip or become decrepit and dependent on nurses and caregivers?

Now that the use of HGH is starting to appear publicly with actors and models I suspect they may become more popular with everyday people.  It's difficult to predict where human thought on this particular topic will be 5, 10, even 20 years from now.