What is Somatostatin?
Somatostatin is a hormone produced chiefly by the hypothalamus that inhibits the secretion of growth hormone, along with various other hormones such as glucagon, insulin, thyrotropin, and gastrin. Studies have shown that an old pituitary gland has the same capacity to produce GH as a young one does. What changes as we age is increased levels of somatostatin. Thus, while our pituitary continues to produce growth hormone, the increased levels of somatostatin in the body effectively diminish the levels of growth hormone released from the pituitary gland.
