"A small U.S. study suggests daily hormone injections may boost mental agility in older people with and without mild cognitive problems.  People who got growth hormonereleasing hormone GHRH as opposed to inactive injections improved on tests of attention and concentration skills  what psychologists call executive function.  And participants who got the hormone shots also felt the effects in their daily life said Laura Baker a memory researcher at the University of Washington  VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle.  On selfreport many of the folks in the active group reported they felt better Baker who led the study told Reuters Health. They wanted to know where they could get the hormone after the study was over.  But thats jumping the gun she warned because the treatment is still experimental and GHRH is not approved to treat mental decline. Whats more the hormone which was provided free by the manufacturer in the study today costs  for a single shot Baker said.  An expert who wasnt involved in the research echoed the cautions.  I think its potentially good news but I dont think its to the point where people should go out and start using it said Dr. Ronald C. Petersen who heads the Mayo Alzheimers Disease Research Center in Rochester Minnesota.  The new study published Monday in the Archives of Neurology included  people aged  to . Sixtysix had mild cognitive impairment which falls somewhere between normal forgetfulness and dementia.  Baker said researchers have failed so far to come up with effective drugs to treat mild cognitive impairment just as there is no known treatment to stave off the normal memory decline that comes with age.  But recent work by one of Bakers coauthors hints that nasal sprays with the hormone insulin may have a positive impact on memory in people with Alzheimers disease  although thats far from conclusive yet.  GHRH a hormone produced by the hypothalamus in the brain is linked to the insulin system but also has a host of other effects. It dwindles naturally with aging which has been linked to declines in memory and executive function.  All you have to do is supplement that hormone and it then will result in a whole cascade of effects that then restore an aging system to a younger system said Baker.  In her study people injected a synthetic version of GHRH or a placebo daily for five months. At the end those who got the drug did better on psychological tests of executive function  whether or not they had mild cognitive impairment.  Its unclear how the test differences will translate into real life said Baker. One test for instance asked participants to name the color of a font  say green  used to write the name of a different color  say red. But Baker said people who got the hormone were more likely to report improvements in their ability to focus during the day.  The researchers found no serious side effects in the study although people who got the hormone more often complained of symptoms like skin reactions and joint pain.  Still both Baker and Petersen said more work is needed to gauge the longterm consequences of GHRH injections. Its possible health problems could show up down the road and the mental boost may be shortlived.  Is it going to work in the long run and is it going to be safe That is still unknown said Petersen.  Baker added that its too early to say whether the hormone could play a role in thwarting the development of Alzheimers which may affect as many as five million Americans.  Still she said There are things we can all do to postpone mental decline. Keeping medical conditions such as diabetes under control and getting regular exercise are two examples.  We recommend commonly that people start exercising when they are having mild cognitive impairment Baker said. Our work and others has shown that exercise really does make a difference.  SOURCE bit.lyMNucEu httpbit.lyMNucEu Archives of Neurology online August  . Our StandardsThe Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. httpthomsonreuters.comenaboutustrustprinciples.html"