going to enhance the whole image , '' he says . HGH has been used since the 1950s to help children with growth problems , but it stayed under the radar for other uses until 1990 , when Dr. Daniel Rudman reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that men taking a six-month course of HGH reduced their body fat by 14.4 percent while increasing lean muscle mass by 8.8 percent . The study included just a dozen men , but it inspired a flood of anti-aging literature touting the benefits of growth hormone , along with countless Web sites selling HGH creams and sprays . Endocrinologists say those products , though , are worthless -- the body can use HGH only when it 's injected to treat patients with HGH , Berger says they must be diagnosed with a deficiency of HGH , which happens naturally as the body ages . `` It 's a very important hormone , but it 's not something to be taken in isolation , '' he says . Berger says he prescribes HGH to restore normal levels of the hormone and makes it part of a broader long-term treatment program including diet
LOS ANGELES , California -- Dr. Andre Berger sees himself as a pioneer . Where others in the medical community believe injections of human growth hormone should be given to adults in only rare cases , Berger believes it is a crucial part of keeping people young and vital . Dr. Andre Berger says the patients requesting HGH from him are getting younger and younger . Berger , who has been practicing anti-aging and holistic medicine for 30 years , says he is now prescribing injections of HGH to about one out of every four people he treats at his Rejuvalife Vitality Institute in Beverly Hills . `` People come here for generally two reasons ; they want to look better , and they want to feel better , '' Berger says . While Berger says most of his patients are middle-aged , he 's now getting calls from Hollywood 30-somethings wanting HGH and rap artists inquiring about illegal steroids , something he does not offer . `` They feel that part of being a rap star is looking buff and having big muscles , etc. , so anything they can do to bring themselves to look like that is