How does thymalin work?

Thymalin is a mixture of small proteins taken from calf thymus, not one defined peptide. This site's profile says it is meant to make up for the thymus making less as we age. It suggests two small two-amino-acid peptides, Lys-Glu and Glu-Trp (later developed as Thymogen), as the active parts. It is listed as leaving the body quickly (a short half-life). There is no single molecular weight. In 266 older people followed for 6 to 8 years, the Thymalin group reported 2.0 to 2.4-fold fewer chest and airway infections, and a death rate 2.0 to 2.1-fold lower than the comparison group. Everyone knew what they got, and it comes from one research school. A 2020 COVID-19 study, where everyone knew what they got, put 42 people on thymalin 10 mg as a shot into muscle for 5 days plus standard care, and 50 on standard care alone. Nobody died in either group. Lung scans got worse in 2 of 42 versus 5 of 50. It is not FDA approved. In human blood stem cells in a dish, Thymalin cut two stem-cell markers (CD44 and CD117) 2 to 3-fold and raised a mature T-cell marker (CD28) 6.8-fold. That is a lab-dish finding, not a counted medical mechanism. This FAQ does not invent a dose. Full record at /compounds/thymalin.

Educational use only. This database summarizes published research and is not medical advice. Where a dose appears it is a record of what a trial or clinic ran, or what people describe doing, with its source attached. Nothing here is a recommendation for personal use.

Part of immune and longevity peptides. Thymosin alpha-1, thymalin, epitalon, MOTS-c, humanin, and the bioregulator family.