How it began
Gerovital H3 was developed during the 1950s by the physician Ana Aslan (1897 to 1988) at her clinic in Bucharest, the Parhon Institute. Aslan was born in Braila and studied medicine in Bucharest. In 1952 she founded the Institute of Geriatrics in Bucharest, which Mayo Clinic Proceedings describes as the first such institute in the world.
How it works
The preparation is based on procaine hydrochloride, a local anesthetic. A colleague of Aslan described it as a complex drug acting like the procaine molecule, with benzoic acid, potassium and disodium phosphate added. It was promoted as a treatment for the effects of aging and for a wide range of ailments.
How it spread
Gerovital drew patients from abroad to Romania. Society columns named public figures said to have taken it, among them Nikita Khrushchev, Konrad Adenauer and Ibn Saud. The name was later used for cosmetic lines, and versions known as GH3 were sold in other countries.
Who pushed back
Medical researchers did not confirm the claims. Three reports published together in the British Medical Journal found no merit in procaine hydrochloride for problems of aging. Trials in the 1970s suggested it acts as a weak, reversible inhibitor of the enzyme monoamine oxidase, with possible antidepressant value, but otherwise has a negligible effect on disease. Low blood pressure, breathing difficulties and convulsions have been reported in some users. The United States Food and Drug Administration treats it as an unapproved new drug and has prohibited its import since 1982.
Where it stands today
Gerovital H3 is still promoted online with claims that research does not support. In the United States the ban on interstate commerce and import remains, although it was lifted for Gerovital cosmetics that contain no procaine. The institute Aslan founded is the more durable legacy, as an early center for the medical study of aging.
