Growth hormone (GH) use has been speculated to improve physical capacity in subjects without GH deficiency (GHD) through stimulation of collagen synthesis in the tendon and skeletal muscle, which leads to better exercise training and increased muscle strength. In this context, the use of GH in healthy elderly should be an option for increasing muscle strength. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of GH therapy on muscle strength in healthy men over 50 years old. Fourteen healthy men aged 50–70 years were evaluated at baseline for body composition and muscle strength (evaluated by leg press and bench press exercises, which focus primarily on quadriceps—lower body part and pectoralis major—upper body part—muscles, resp.). Subjects were randomised into 2 groups: GH therapy (7 subjects) and placebo (7 subjects) and reevaluated after 6 months of therapy. Thirteen subjects completed the study (6 subjects in the placebo group and 7 subjects in the GH group). Subjects of both groups were not different at baseline. After 6 months of therapy, muscle strength in the bench press responsive muscles did not increase in both groups and showed a statistically significant increase in the leg press responsive muscles in the GH group. Our study demonstrated an increase in muscle strength in the lower body part after GH therapy in healthy men. This finding must be considered and tested in frail older populations, whose physical incapacity is primarily caused by proximal muscle weakness. The trial was registered with NCT01853566.

There is a lack of information about elderly acute cardiovascular responses in the elderly during exercise involving different muscle groups and strategies of load/repetition interaction (LRI) in continuous and intermittent sets. The purpose of this study was to compare heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), rate-pressure product (RPP) and quality of exercise performance (QEx) of upper and lower body exercises (arms abduction and hip flexion) in different situations of LRI. Twelve healthy women aged 65 to 85 years old volunteered to this study. The subjects performed both exercises at 12 maximal repetitions workload, continuously (2 sets of 12 reps) and alternately (4 sets of 6 reps). HR was measured with a cardiotachometer and SBP through auscultation technique at the end of the last repetition of each set. The exercises were recorded in video to evaluate QEx. At least for the selected exercises, LRI did not influence QEx. However, SBP and RPP values for the intermittent sets were significantly higher than for continuous situations (p < 0.05). The authors concluded that continuous sets seem to be associated to greater cardiovascular stress in elder subjects, mainly because of SBP responses during the exercise