An article written by staff writer Terrence Dopp on nj.com, stated that school officials in New Jersey will start testing school athletes for illegal use of human growth hormone and steroids.
The order was issued by acting Lt. Governor Richard Codey, after the results of a study conducted by a task force that Codey created.
The study showed that “3.4% of high school seniors nationwide, 2.4% of 10th graders, and 1.9% of eighth graders,” have used either human growth hormone or steroids.
According to an article appearing on BBC News, a study completed at the University of Bristol showed that there was a correlation between the amount of human growth hormone and a person’s IQ.
This experiment was completed on 547 children, and measured the levels of Insulin Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1). The study found that, “for every 100 nanograms per milliliter increase in IGF-I levels, verbal IQ increased by three points”.
Professor David Gunnell who is Head of the Research concluded that, "This study provides some preliminary evidence that IGF-I plays an important role in human brain development and may underlie the associations of birth weight and height with IQ." But before more conclusions can be made, Professor Gunnell replied that more testing was needed.
