Does it raise growth hormone?

What this archive is for. Trials of the compound come first, ranked by how many people were actually given it. Studies that only observed people are below them and labelled.

1. 01TesamorelinPeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 8 completed trials, 1,729 people given it.10 reported

   152 people given it1 trial

   • Thinking scores edged up, and this was one modest trial. 152 adults aged 55 to 87 took tesamorelin or a dummy injection daily for about five months. Sixty six of them already had mild memory problems. The drug group did a little better at tests of planning and mental flexibility, by enough to separate from chance. IGF-1 more than doubled but stayed inside the normal range. No other team has repeated this, it ran only five months, and it did not test whether anyone's memory loss progressed.

     The numbers 152 adults aged 55 to 87 (66 with MCI): 20 weeks of tesamorelin 1 mg daily had a favorable effect on cognition (P=.03), mainly executive function, and raised IGF-1 117% within the physiological range.

     Archives of Neurology, 2012· 152 people

   What people using it report

   • It is usually discussed alongside peptides that make the body release growth hormone, rather than alone, which makes almost every self-report about it a report about a combination.
2. 02Tesamorelin / IpamorelinBlendStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 1,507 people given it.9 reported

   152 people given it1 trial

   • A low dose of tesamorelin nudged thinking in the right direction in older adults. A hundred and fifty two people aged 55 to 87 took it or a dummy shot for five months, and sixty six of them already had mild memory trouble. The gain showed up mainly in planning and mental flexibility. IGF-1 more than doubled while staying inside the normal range. The dose was 1 mg, half the dose used for belly fat, and this trial did not measure fat at all.

     The numbers 152 adults aged 55 to 87, of whom 66 had mild cognitive impairment. Twenty weeks of tesamorelin at 1 mg daily had a favourable effect on cognition, P equal to 0.03, concentrated in executive function, and raised IGF-1 by 117 percent within the physiological range. Note the dose: 1 mg, which is half the dose that produced the visceral fat result, and this trial did not measure visceral fat.

     Archives of Neurology, 2012· 152 people

   What people using it report

   • Rising fasting blood sugar or HbA1c (a three-month blood sugar average) on follow-up blood tests. This is a known concern when you push the growth hormone system, and it is why clinics check it.
3. 03SermorelinPeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 139 people given it.8 reported

   139 people given it3 trials1 found nothing

   • Children with a growth hormone deficiency grew faster on sermorelin, in a study with nobody to compare them against. 110 children injected it nightly for up to a year. Their growth roughly doubled, from about four centimetres a year to eight at six months, settling near seven by a year. About three quarters responded well. Everybody got the drug and everybody knew it. Bone age advanced in step with height, and blood sugar did not change.

     The numbers 110 prepubertal children treated with 30 micrograms/kg per day for up to a year in an open-label multicentre study with no control arm: mean height velocity rose from 4.1 to 8.0 cm/year at 6 months and 7.2 cm/year at 12 months, with 74% classed as good responders and no excessive IGF-1 generation.

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 1996· 110 people

   • found nothingThe hormone response faded while the injections carried on. Nineteen adults aged 55 to 71 injected salt water nightly for a month, then a sermorelin-like peptide for four more months. Growth hormone and its main blood marker rose within two weeks, stayed up for three months, then drifted back to where they started even though dosing never stopped. Muscle, insulin response, mood and libido improved in the men and not the women. Bone density and sleep did not change in anyone.

     The numbers 19 adults aged 55 to 71 on 4 weeks of placebo then 16 weeks of the Nle27 analogue at 10 micrograms/kg nightly: IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 rose within 2 weeks and returned toward baseline by week 16 while dosing continued. Lean mass, insulin sensitivity, well-being and libido improved in men only; bone mineral density and sleep quality did not change.

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 1997· 19 people

   • A short course of injections put older men's growth hormone back to young-adult levels. 10 healthy older men injected this fragment of growth hormone releasing hormone twice a day for 14 days. Their growth hormone across a full day, and their IGF-1, rose to levels that could not be told apart from young men's. Ten men and two weeks is a very small study. It measured hormones in the blood and nothing else. Nobody checked whether the men got stronger, leaner or felt better.

     The numbers In 10 healthy old men, 14 days of GHRH(1-29) 1 mg twice daily restored 24-hour GH and IGF-1 to levels not significantly different from young men.

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1992· 10 people

   What people using it report

   • Disappointment is common. It is repeatedly described as weak compared with the newer growth hormone release peptides, and the frequent advice is to combine it with a GHRP, which means most reports about it are reports about a combination.
4. 04OctreotidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 140 people given it.3 reported

   115 people given it1 trial

   • In acromegaly the drug brought the hormone down in about half the patients. A hundred and fifteen people with the condition, which is caused by too much growth hormone, were treated across several hospitals. Growth hormone fell below the target level in 53 of every 100, and IGF-1 came back to normal in 68 of every 100. That leaves a large group it did not control. These are blood levels. Whether people felt better is a separate question this summary does not carry.

     The numbers 115 patients: octreotide lowered GH to below 5 micrograms/L in 53% and normalized IGF-1 in 68%.

     Annals of Internal Medicine, 1992· 115 people

5. 05HexarelinPeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 6 completed trials, 105 people given it.7 reported

   93 people given it4 trials, 1 watch-only

   • The older you are, the less growth hormone hexarelin gets out of you. 60 people across four age groups each got a single dose into a vein. Young adults released nearly twice as much growth hormone as elderly people, 1,829.7 against 951.1 in the units used. The stress hormone response went the other way, trending higher in the older group. So the people most likely to buy this get the least of the wanted hormone and more of the unwanted one.

     The numbers 60 subjects across four age groups at 2.0 mcg/kg intravenously: growth hormone area under the curve 1,829.7 mcg per min per L in young adults versus 951.1 in the elderly, while the ACTH response trended higher in the elderly.

     European Journal of Endocrinology, 1997· 60 people

   • Body fat blunts the response, so the heavier you are the less hexarelin does. 21 healthy elderly people each got a single shot under the skin. The more fat someone carried, the lower their growth hormone peak, and fat mass predicted the response better than anything else measured. Being male or female made no difference on its own. This was 21 people and a single dose, which is a small basis for any rule.

     The numbers 21 healthy elderly subjects given 1.5 mcg/kg subcutaneously: peak growth hormone correlated negatively with fat mass (r = -0.72, P = 0.0001), with fat mass the strongest single predictor of the response. Gender was not an independent variable.

     Clinical Endocrinology, 1998· 21 people

   • As a pituitary test hexarelin works for growth hormone and fails for cortisol. 19 patients were tested both with hexarelin and with the old method of driving blood sugar down with insulin. Hexarelin pushed growth hormone far higher, 67.1 against 26.9 mU/L, and the two tests agreed on whether growth hormone was normal in 18 of the 19 patients. Cortisol peaks were lower after hexarelin. The authors conclude it is no use for checking the stress hormone axis.

     The numbers 19 patients compared against insulin-induced hypoglycaemia: peak growth hormone 67.1 versus 26.9 mU/L, with agreement on growth hormone status in 18 of 19. The authors conclude hexarelin is not a useful test of ACTH and cortisol reserve.

     Clinical Endocrinology, 1999· 19 peopleobserved only, nobody was given it

   • Keep taking hexarelin and it stops working as well. Twelve healthy older people took it twice a day for sixteen weeks. By the end, the growth hormone it released was roughly half what it had been at the start. The fade was partial rather than total, and the response came back four weeks after they stopped. Everyone here got the drug, so there is nothing to compare against. Twelve people is also too few to say how often this happens.

     The numbers Twice-daily hexarelin for 16 weeks in 12 healthy elderly people cut the GH response by roughly half; attenuation was partial and reversed 4 weeks after stopping.

     Growth Hormone and IGF Research, 1998· 12 people

   What people using it report

   • Discussed almost entirely by comparison rather than on its own, as the strongest of the growth hormone releasing peptides and the one with the worst side effect profile. Nearly every mention places it against ipamorelin, GHRP-2 and GHRP-6 rather than describing it in isolation.
6. 06MecaserminPeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 76 people given it.6 reported

   76 people given it1 trial, 4 watch-only

   • Men with naturally higher IGF-1 in their blood get prostate cancer somewhat more often. Nearly 200,000 men were followed for about seven years. 5,402 were diagnosed with prostate cancer and 295 died of it. The higher a man's level, the higher his risk, and a genetic analysis pointed the same way, which makes a real cause more likely. Nobody was given anything here. These were men with their own natural levels, not patients on mecasermin, and this does not show that treating a deficient child raises his cancer risk.

     The numbers The epidemiology that any page about giving people more IGF-1 has to state. 199,698 men in UK Biobank followed a mean of 6.9 years, 5,402 diagnosed with and 295 dying from prostate cancer. Higher circulating IGF-1 was associated with prostate cancer diagnosis (hazard ratio 1.09 per 5 nmol/L increment, 95 percent CI 1.05 to 1.12) and with prostate cancer mortality (1.15, 1.02 to 1.29), with hazard ratios corrected for regression dilution using repeat measurements. A two-sample Mendelian randomisation analysis using genetic instruments and outcome data from 79,148 cases and 61,106 controls supported a causal role (cis-MR odds ratio 1.34 per 5 nmol/L, 1.07 to 1.68). This is an association study in men with naturally varying IGF-1, not a study of mecasermin, and it does not establish that treating a deficient child raises cancer risk.

     International Journal of Cancer, 2021· 199,698 peopleobserved only, nobody was given it

   • Low blood sugar is the main hazard of this treatment, and this registry shows how often it actually happens. 306 patients were tracked from 2008 to 2021, most of them with severe IGF-1 deficiency. 80 had at least one low blood sugar episode and 224 had none. Serious episodes were rare. Children who had low blood sugar before starting, and children with Laron syndrome, were the ones most likely to have more. Nobody was given anything for this study. It counted what happened to patients already on treatment.

     The numbers Surveillance registry data from December 2008 to May 2021, 306 patients enrolled, 84.6 percent with severe primary IGF-1 deficiency. 80 patients had at least one hypoglycaemia adverse event against 224 with none. Total hypoglycaemia events were 0.11 per patient per treatment year and serious events 0.01 per patient per treatment year. Prior history of hypoglycaemia and a Laron syndrome diagnosis both predicted future events. The affected group started treatment younger (mean 8.7 against 9.8 years).

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2023· 306 peopleobserved only, nobody was given it

   • The treatment helps children who do not have Laron syndrome as well, just less. 242 children across ten European countries were entered in an ongoing registry. Among the 138 never treated before, first year height gain was bigger in the 21 with Laron syndrome than in the 117 without. Even so, more than half the non Laron children hit the responder mark. About two in three had some side effect, most often low blood sugar. Nobody was picked by chance and there was no untreated group.

     The numbers Ongoing open-label observational registry (NCT00903110), 242 children and adolescents from ten European countries enrolled between 2008 and 2017. In the treatment-naive prepubertal cohort of 138, height standard deviation score gain after one year was greater in the 21 patients with Laron syndrome than in the 117 without (p less than 0.05), and 56 percent of the non-Laron group met the responder threshold of a first-year height SDS gain of at least 0.3. Younger age at baseline predicted response (p less than 0.001). Treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 65.3 percent of patients, hypoglycaemia most commonly. Observational, not randomised.

     European Journal of Endocrinology, 2021· 242 peopleobserved only, nobody was given it

   • Treatment lifts these children a long way toward a normal height without getting them there. 213 registry patients were followed and 36 were tracked all the way through puberty. Boys went from far below average height to much closer to it, and girls did the same. Puberty arrived about eighteen months late and the growth spurt was later and slightly weaker. The height gained before puberty was not lost during it. Nobody was assigned to anything and there is no untreated group to compare against.

     The numbers The number that sets expectations honestly. 213 registry patients, 132 boys and 81 girls. Among those reaching the end of puberty, 25 boys and 11 girls, mean height standard deviation score rose from minus 3.7 at registry baseline to minus 2.6 at Tanner stage 5 in boys, and from minus 3.1 to minus 2.3 in girls. Median pubertal peak height velocity was 8.0 cm per year in boys and 6.8 in girls. Puberty started about 1.5 years late and peak height velocity was delayed and slightly lower, but the height gain made before puberty was maintained through it. Treatment improves final height substantially without normalising it.

     Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2022· 213 peopleobserved only, nobody was given it

7. 07MK-677 with ipamorelinBlendModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 182 people given it.7 reported

   65 people given it1 trial

   • MK-677 worked in the longest study any of these drugs has had, and the gains were modest. 65 healthy adults aged 60 to 81 took a 25 mg pill or a dummy pill every day for two years. Nobody knew which they had. Growth hormone and IGF-1 climbed back into the range of a healthy young adult, with no serious harms. Lean weight rose about 1.1 kg on the drug and fell 0.5 kg on the dummy pill. That is roughly two pounds gained against one pound lost.

     The numbers 65 healthy adults aged 60 to 81 took MK-677 25 mg orally once daily or placebo for two years in a double-blind randomised modified-crossover trial. Growth hormone and IGF-1 rose into the healthy young adult range without serious adverse events. Fat-free mass increased 1.1 kg on MK-677 against a 0.5 kg fall on placebo, and body cell mass measured as intracellular water rose 0.8 kg against a 1.0 kg fall. This is the longest randomised trial of any secretagogue in this database.

     Annals of Internal Medicine, 2008· 65 people

8. 08Sermorelin / GHRPBlendLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 4 completed trials, 56 people given it.9 reported

   56 people given it3 trials, 1 watch-only1 found nothing

   • found nothingOld pituitaries answered the combined signal as well as young ones did. Twenty six healthy people aged 19 to 96 were given both peptides together into a vein, once. Growth hormone rose sharply in every one of them, and the size of the rise did not fall off with age. That is worth knowing, because age is usually blamed for a weak response. It was one test on one day, and it says nothing about what repeated injections do over months.

     The numbers 26 normal subjects in three age bands from 19 to 96 given a combined intravenous bolus of 90 micrograms GHRH plus 90 micrograms GHRP-6. Mean growth hormone peaks were 47.5, 52.9 and 76.0 micrograms per litre with no significant differences between age groups, and there were no non-responders. Shows the combined stimulus still works in old people, as a one-off test.

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 1998· 26 people

   • Adding a releasing hormone to a ghrelin type drug roughly doubled the growth hormone response. Twenty patients were tested on two separate days, once with one drug and once with both. In people with a healthy pituitary the peak went from 25.7 to 54.7 units, and in people short of the hormone from 1.3 to 4.0. Flushing was the only side effect seen. This was one dose into a vein as a hospital test, not the pair or the route anyone injects at home.

     The numbers Twenty patients received GHRP-6 at 1 microgram per kilogram alone and, on a separate day, GHRP-6 with GHRH at 1 microgram per kilogram. In the growth hormone sufficient group the mean peak was 25.7 micrograms per litre alone and 54.7 combined; in the deficient group 1.3 versus 4.0. The combination is genuinely better than the secretagogue alone, measured as a single intravenous diagnostic test. Flushing was the only side effect observed.

     European Journal of Endocrinology, 2002· 20 people

   • Sermorelin lifted old men's growth hormone back to a young man's level, at a dose far above what people inject now. Ten healthy older men took it twice a day for two weeks. By the end, their growth hormone and IGF-1 across a full day matched those of young men. Ten men for two weeks tells you the hormone moved. It does not tell you anyone got stronger, slept better or lived longer. The dose was 1 mg twice daily, several times what a blend draw delivers.

     The numbers In 10 healthy old men, 14 days of GHRH 1-29 at 1 mg twice daily restored 24-hour growth hormone and IGF-1 to levels not significantly different from young men. The best human result for the sermorelin half, and note the dose: 1,000 micrograms twice a day, several times what a blend draw delivers.

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 1992· 10 people

   • The hunger is not a rumour, it was measured. Seven lean men given this peptide ate about a third more when left to help themselves, alongside a large rise in growth hormone. Seven men is a very small study and one free meal is easy to sway. Even so, appetite is the effect people report most and the one that most often ends a course. In a blend you cannot dial it down without dialling down the sermorelin at the same time.

     The numbers A GHRP-2 infusion increased ad libitum food intake by about 36 percent in seven lean men alongside a strong growth hormone rise. This is the side effect that most often ends a blend course, and the one you cannot remove without also removing the sermorelin.

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2005· 7 peopleobserved only, nobody was given it

9. 09GHRP-2PeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 102 people given it.7 reported

   15 people given it1 trial1 found nothing

   • found nothingChildren given GHRP-2 up the nose grew faster, and the study had nothing to compare them against. Fifteen short children took it twice and later three times a day for months. Their growth rate rose from under four centimetres a year to about six. The blood marker usually treated as the sign of a growth hormone effect did not move. Everybody in the study got the peptide, so growing faster cannot be separated from growing older, or from being watched closely.

     The numbers 15 children given 5 to 15 micrograms/kg intranasally twice then three times daily: height velocity rose from 3.7 to 6.1 cm/year at 6 months with no significant change in IGF-1 or IGFBP-3 and no control group. Growth hormone binding protein rose from 439 to 688 pmol/L.

     Journal of Endocrinology, 1997· 15 people

   What people using it report

   • Almost never used alone. The standard pattern described is pairing it with a lab made copy of the brain's growth hormone release signal, usually modified GRF 1-29, which means essentially no self-report isolates it. Premixed combination vials are widely distrusted and separate vials are the preference.
   • Cost relative to growth hormone itself is a recurring reason people choose it, and the cost of the extra drugs people take to manage cortisol and prolactin is raised as an argument against that framing.
10. 10GalaninPeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 4 completed trials, 21 people given it.

    13 people given it3 trials3 found nothing

    • found nothingGalanin shuts down insulin in dogs and rodents, and in people it did nothing of the kind. Seven healthy men were given a sugar load on its own, and again with galanin at two high infusion rates. Blood sugar and insulin came out the same either way, though growth hormone still rose. The authors' own conclusion is the lesson of this entry. Be careful assuming that what a peptide does in an animal is what it will do in you.

      The numbers Seven healthy male volunteers given an intravenous glucose tolerance test alone and with porcine galanin at 80 and 160 pmol/kg per minute. Galanin inhibits glucose-stimulated insulin release in dogs and rodents; in humans it had no effect on plasma glucose or serum insulin, though growth hormone still rose. The authors' explicit conclusion is that caution should be exercised in extrapolating a physiological role for galanin in humans from animal results, which is the central lesson of this entry.

      Diabetes, 1989· 7 people

    • found nothingHuman galanin drove growth hormone up eightfold and left the pancreas completely alone. Six healthy volunteers were infused for an hour while their blood sugar was deliberately held high. Insulin, glucagon and blood sugar behaved exactly as they had without it. The body cleared half the galanin in under four minutes, which is very fast indeed. So this is a powerful growth hormone signal and, at these levels, has nothing to do with blood sugar control.

      The numbers Human galanin, not porcine, infused at 74 pmol/kg per minute for 60 minutes into six healthy volunteers during a hyperglycaemic clamp. Galanin concentrations plateaued around 1500 pmol/L against pre-infusion levels of 20 to 30 pmol/L. Growth hormone rose eightfold. Insulin, C-peptide, glucagon and glucose curves were indistinguishable from control. Galanin was eliminated from plasma with a half-life of 3.7 plus or minus 0.4 minutes. The authors conclude that human galanin powerfully stimulates growth hormone secretion in man but has no effect on pancreatic endocrine secretion or glucose metabolism at these concentrations.

      Diabetologia, 1993· 6 people

    • found nothingThe first time galanin was given to people, it set off a surge of growth hormone. Ten healthy volunteers were infused for an hour at one of two rates. Growth hormone climbed many times over, further at the higher rate. The hormone behind milk production rose a little. Stress and thyroid hormones did not move, and neither did heart rate or blood pressure. The only complaints were a passing bitter taste and extra saliva. Sugar cleared from the blood more slowly, with insulin unchanged.

      The numbers The first human study. Galanin infused for 60 minutes into healthy volunteers at 7.8 pmol/kg per minute (n=4) or 33.2 pmol/kg per minute (n=6). Plasma growth hormone rose from 2.8 to a mean peak of 48.5 mU/L at the high dose and from 2.5 to 23.5 mU/L at the low dose; prolactin rose from 176 to 274 mU/L. No change in cortisol, TSH, FSH or LH. No change in heart rate or blood pressure at these doses; the only symptoms were a transitory bitter taste and slight hypersalivation. Galanin reduced glucose clearance after an intravenous glucose bolus without significantly affecting plasma insulin.

      The Lancet, 1986· number of people not given

11. 11GHRP-6PeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 5 completed trials, 42 people given it.8 reported

    9 people given it1 trial1 found nothing

    • found nothingThe longest anyone has been kept on this peptide, and the response was already fading by the end. Nine healthy young men had GHRP-6 or salt water dripped in for thirty-four hours. Total growth hormone output roughly doubled and IGF-1 rose modestly. The natural pulse pattern did not change. By the end the pituitary was answering less: a later dose of GHRP-6 produced a smaller rise, and two other pituitary hormones also responded less to their own trigger. That is the tolerance problem, measured directly, in people.

      The numbers Nine healthy young men infused with GHRP-6 or saline for 34 hours, the longest published human exposure. Integrated GH concentration rose to 2,908 against 1,374 micrograms x min per litre and IGF-1 from 252 to 312 micrograms per litre, with no change in GH pulse frequency or interpulse concentration. Partial desensitization was visible by the end: the GH response to a later GHRP-6 bolus and the TSH and prolactin responses to TRH were all smaller, and baseline TSH was lower.

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 1993· 9 people

    What people using it report

    • Negatives beyond hunger include a low blood sugar feeling, with lightheadedness and weakness, that people report without matching low sugar readings, swelling and cramping, and the general point that this type raises cortisol and prolactin more than the more targeted growth hormone peptides.
    • A recurring technical objection in these threads is that the growth hormone spike is short lived, on the order of hours, and that this is not long enough to raise IGF-1 in proportion, which people use to explain why results feel smaller than expected.
12. 12CJC-1295PeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, none stating how many people.9 reported

    0 people given it2 trials1 found nothing

    • One shot lifted growth hormone for over a week, and that is the whole of what was measured. Healthy adults got a single injection of CJC-1295 or a dummy injection, and nobody involved knew which. Growth hormone in the blood then ran two to ten times higher for six days or more. IGF-1, the hormone the liver makes in response, stayed one and a half to three times higher for nine to eleven days. Nobody measured muscle, fat, strength, sleep or how anyone felt.

      The numbers Two randomized placebo-controlled trials in healthy adults: a single injection raised mean GH 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or more and IGF-1 1.5- to 3-fold for 9 to 11 days; estimated half-life 5.8 to 8.1 days.

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2006· number of people not given

    • found nothingThe drug lifted growth hormone without flattening the body's own rhythm. Healthy men got a single dose. A week later their lowest growth hormone readings were about seven and a half times higher than before, average growth hormone was up by roughly half, and IGF-1 was up by roughly half. The pulses the body normally releases still came just as often and just as strongly. This is blood chemistry only. No health outcome was measured, and the group was small.

      The numbers In healthy men, CJC-1295 raised trough GH 7.5-fold, mean GH 46% and IGF-1 45% one week after a single dose while GH pulse frequency and amplitude were unchanged.

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2006· number of people not given

    What people using it report

    • Older users report getting less from growth hormone release peptides than younger ones and several describe moving to growth hormone itself instead.
13. 13AOD-9604PeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, none stating how many people.5 reported

    0 people given it1 trial1 found nothing

    • found nothingAOD9604 was tested properly for weight loss and it did not work. Six separate trials compared it with a dummy, and none of them delivered the fat loss the drug was built for. It did not change the growth hormone marker in the blood, and it did not change how people handled sugar. Its side effect profile looked the same as a dummy injection. So the honest summary is that it is safe and it is ineffective.

      The numbers Summary of six randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trials: AOD9604 (Tyr-hGH177-191) had no effect on IGF-1 or glucose tolerance and a safety profile indistinguishable from placebo; the programme did not establish efficacy for weight loss.

      Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2013· number of people not given

    What people using it report

    • People who describe having used it describe having used it as one item inside a large stack alongside peptides that make the body release growth hormone, and tesamorelin, so even the favourable accounts cannot isolate it.
    • The most common comparison made by long-term posters is that growth hormone itself is cheaper and does more, which is offered as the reason not to bother rather than as a recommendation.
14. 14Modified GRF 1-29PeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, none stating how many people.9 reported

    0 people given it1 trial

    • The peptide did move hormone levels, and this trial tested a different version from the one usually sold. Healthy adults aged 21 to 61 got either rising doses or a dummy, with nobody knowing which. A single injection pushed growth hormone several fold higher for six days or more, and IGF-1 stayed up for a week and a half. The body took about a week to clear half a dose. Nothing serious went wrong. Vendors quote this study for the plain form, which it never tested.

      The numbers Two randomised placebo-controlled double-blind ascending dose trials over 28 and 49 days in healthy subjects aged 21 to 61. A single injection raised mean plasma growth hormone 2 to 10 fold for 6 days or more and IGF-1 1.5 to 3 fold for 9 to 11 days, with an estimated half-life of 5.8 to 8.1 days and IGF-1 still above baseline for up to 28 days after multiple doses. No serious adverse reactions. This is the DAC form. It is the study quoted on vendor pages for the non-DAC product, and it is not a study of that product.

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2006· number of people not given

15. 15CJC-1295 / IpamorelinBlendLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 20 people given it.9 reported

    0 people given it1 trial

    • One injection kept growth hormone raised for the better part of a week. Healthy adults were given a single shot of CJC-1295 or a dummy shot, and their blood was tracked afterwards. Growth hormone ran several times higher for six days or more, and IGF-1, the hormone it drives, stayed up for nine to eleven days. The body takes about a week to clear half a dose. No ipamorelin was given here. That long tail is why dosing a blend of the two every night makes no sense.

      The numbers Two randomised placebo-controlled trials in healthy adults. A single injection of CJC-1295 raised mean growth hormone 2-fold to 10-fold for six days or more and IGF-1 1.5-fold to 3-fold for nine to eleven days, with an estimated half-life of 5.8 to 8.1 days. This is the CJC-1295 component alone. No ipamorelin was given, and this is the measurement that makes daily dosing of a blend incoherent.

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2006· number of people not given

    Also measured in animals or in the lab

    • In rats and pigs, and in rat pituitary cells. This paper introduced ipamorelin. It released growth hormone about as strongly as GHRP-6, with far less effect on cortisol and prolactin. It tested ipamorelin alone. It says nothing about sharing a vial with a GHRH copy.

      The numbers The paper that defined ipamorelin, in rat pituitary cells, rats and swine. Growth hormone releasing potency similar to GHRP-6 with far less effect on cortisol and prolactin. Animal pharmacology of the single peptide; it says nothing about what happens when it shares a vial with a GHRH analogue.

      European Journal of Endocrinology, 1998· animal study

16. 16CJC-1295 with GHRP-2BlendLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, none stating how many people.8 reported

    0 people given it1 trial

    • Putting the two drug types together does push growth hormone higher than either one alone. Healthy older adults got GHRH, GHRP-2, or both, through a drip over 24 hours. The pair beat each drug on its own. The extra boost from pairing them was three times bigger in young people than in older ones. It was bigger in older women than older men. A month of nonstop GHRP-2 kept growth hormone bursts raised. This was a drip in a research unit, not a seller's vial.

      The numbers In healthy older adults, a 24 hour infusion of GHRP-2 combined with GHRH drove growth hormone secretion more than GHRH alone, and more than GHRP-2 alone. Acute two-peptide synergy was three-fold greater in young than older volunteers and 2.3-fold higher in elderly women than men. Thirty days of continuous GHRP-2 stimulated pulsatile growth hormone more than three-fold on day 1 and more than 1.8-fold at days 14 and 30, with IGF-1 on a stable plateau. This is the real combination evidence for the drug classes, using infusions in a research setting rather than a vendor vial.

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2004· number of people not given

    What people using it report

    • Water retention, tingling hands and some joint aches. This is the classic pattern of too much growth hormone.
17. 17CJC-1295 with GHRP-6BlendLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 9 people given it.7 reported

    0 people given it1 trial

    • A single shot of the long-acting version lifts growth hormone for days in healthy adults. That much is solid. Growth hormone ran two to ten times above its usual level for six days or more. The growth factor IGF-1 stayed high for nine to eleven days. Half a dose is still in the body a week later. Read the label with care here. This was CJC-1295 with DAC. What is usually sold as CJC-1295 without DAC is a different molecule that is gone in minutes.

      The numbers Single subcutaneous injections of CJC-1295 with drug affinity complex raised mean plasma growth hormone two to ten-fold for six days or more and IGF-1 1.5 to three-fold for nine to eleven days in healthy adults, with an estimated half-life of 5.8 to 8.1 days. The material usually sold as CJC-1295 without DAC is a different, short-acting molecule.

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2006· number of people not given

18. 18CJC-1295 with ipamorelin and GHRP-2BlendModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 117 people given it.5 reported

    0 people given it1 trial, 1 watch-only

    • A single shot of the long-acting version keeps growth hormone up for days. Here that is the problem, not the selling point. In healthy adults growth hormone ran two to ten times above its usual level for six days or more. IGF-1 stayed high for nine to eleven days. After repeat doses, IGF-1 was still above where it started 28 days later. Half a dose is still in the body a week on. This ingredient shares a vial with two that are gone in hours.

      The numbers Single subcutaneous injections in healthy adults raised mean plasma growth hormone two to ten-fold for six days or more and IGF-1 1.5 to three-fold for nine to eleven days, with an estimated half-life of 5.8 to 8.1 days and IGF-1 above baseline for up to 28 days after multiple doses. A component lasting that long shares this vial with two that clear in hours.

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2006· number of people not given

    • One hunger-hormone type peptide plus GHRH is enough to show the effect. That is the point to take from this study. Healthy older adults given the pair through a 24 hour drip made more growth hormone than with either drug alone. Nobody has tested adding a second peptide that presses the same switch as the first. Nothing in this research says two is better than one. The vial holds two anyway.

      The numbers A 24 hour infusion combining a ghrelin-receptor agonist with GHRH raised growth hormone secretion above either agent given alone in healthy older adults. One GHRP was enough to show the two-receptor effect; nothing in this literature supports adding a second agent at the same receptor.

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2004· number of people not givenobserved only, nobody was given it

19. 19DermorphinPeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 11 people given it.2 reported

    nobody was given it1 watch-only study

    • Again a probe of how the pituitary gland works, not a treatment. Eleven people with a hormone producing tumour in the pituitary were given dermorphin. Prolactin did not budge in any of them, unlike in healthy people. Growth hormone rose in everyone except the three with the largest tumours. The point was to learn about the gland. Nothing here concerns treating anybody, and eleven people is a very small group.

      The numbers 11 patients with prolactinomas (8 micro, 3 macro). No prolactin response to dermorphin in any patient; growth hormone rose in all except the 3 with macroprolactinomas. Used as an opioid probe of pituitary regulation, not as a treatment. Academic study, Italy.

      Metabolism, 1985· 11 peopleobserved only, nobody was given it

20. 20Sermorelin with ipamorelinBlendModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 1 completed trial, 117 people given it.8 reported

    nobody was given it2 watch-only studies

    • Sermorelin was put head to head with growth hormone itself, in children who were short of it. That is the sort of evidence behind sermorelin's approval as a medicine. Be clear about who was studied. These were children with a diagnosed hormone shortage, treated so they would grow. They were not healthy adults hoping to swap fat for muscle, which is what this product is sold for.

      The numbers GHRH 1-29, the molecule sold as sermorelin, was compared against growth hormone itself for stimulating growth in children with growth hormone deficiency. This is the kind of evidence that sat behind sermorelin's approval, and it is a paediatric deficiency population, not healthy adults seeking body composition change.

      Acta Paediatrica Supplement, 1993· number of people not givenobserved only, nobody was given it

    • The two-switch idea behind this vial has worked in people, but with different drugs. Healthy older adults given a hunger-hormone type peptide together with GHRH made more growth hormone than with either one alone. That is the best proof that pairing the two kinds does something real. It is not proof for this product. The study used GHRP-2 with GHRH, fed in slowly through a drip. It did not use sermorelin with ipamorelin from a pharmacy vial.

      The numbers In healthy older adults a ghrelin-receptor agonist combined with GHRH over 24 hours raised growth hormone secretion above either agent alone. It is the best evidence that the two-receptor idea works in people, and it used GHRP-2 with GHRH by infusion, not sermorelin with ipamorelin from a compounded vial.

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2004· number of people not givenobserved only, nobody was given it

21. 21Sermorelin with GHRP-2 and GHRP-6BlendLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 9 people given it.6 reported

    nobody was given it1 watch-only study

    • Sermorelin was compared head to head with growth hormone itself, in children who lacked it. That is the sort of evidence behind sermorelin once being an approved medicine. Look at who was in it. Children with a diagnosed shortage, treated so they would grow. That is a long way from a healthy adult drawing sermorelin out of a three-peptide vial.

      The numbers GHRH 1-29, the molecule sold as sermorelin, compared against growth hormone itself for stimulating growth in children with growth hormone deficiency. The kind of evidence behind sermorelin's former approval, in a paediatric deficiency population.

      Acta Paediatrica Supplement, 1993· number of people not givenobserved only, nobody was given it

Vitamins, minerals, amino acids and botanicals sold over the counter, held to the same standard.

1. 01Ursolic acidSupplementLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 16 people given it.6 reported

   16 people given it1 trial1 found nothing

   • found nothingThe entire human record for ursolic acid is sixteen men. 16 healthy men averaging 29 did eight weeks of weight training, seven on training alone and nine also taking ursolic acid capsules three times a day. Body fat percentage fell in the supplemented group. Body weight, body mass index, muscle mass, blood sugar and insulin did not change. Two hormones rose from their own starting points, as did several leg strength measures. Nine people on a supplement cannot settle anything, and nobody has repeated it.

     The numbers 16 healthy men, mean age 29, randomised to eight weeks of resistance training alone (n equals 7) or with ursolic acid (n equals 9), one capsule three times daily. Body fat percentage fell significantly in the supplemented group (p less than 0.001) while body weight, body mass index, lean body mass, glucose and insulin were unchanged. IGF-1 and irisin rose from baseline in the supplemented group, as did several maximal extension and flexion measures.

     Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 2014· 16 people

Approved drugs, biologics and hormones that have been measured for this. They are here because leaving them out would misrepresent the evidence, and they are below the peptides because that is not what most people come here to read.

1. 01MK-677Small moleculeLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 65 people given it.11 reported

   65 people given it1 trial, 1 watch-only1 found nothing

   • found nothingIt shifted muscle and fat, and it did not make anyone stronger or more able. 65 adults aged 60 to 81 took MK-677 or a dummy pill daily for up to two years. Growth hormone and IGF-1 climbed back to young-adult levels. Lean tissue rose about 1.1 kg while the dummy group lost about half a kilo. Strength and everyday function did not improve at all. Fasting blood sugar rose and the body handled insulin worse. That last sentence is the part people skip.

     The numbers 65 adults aged 60 to 81 on MK-677 25 mg daily for up to 2 years: GH and IGF-1 rose to young-adult levels and fat-free mass increased 1.1 kg vs a 0.5 kg loss on placebo, but strength and function did not improve and fasting glucose and insulin resistance rose.

     Annals of Internal Medicine, 2008· 65 people

   • The trial was stopped early over a heart safety signal, and most of what it measured did not improve. 123 older people recovering from a broken hip took MK-677 or a dummy pill. Walking speed improved and IGF-1 rose. Most other measures of function did not move. The study was halted before it finished because of concern about congestive heart failure in treated patients. Stopping early leaves the benefit thin and the harm not properly measured.

     The numbers 123 elderly hip-fracture patients: gait speed improved and IGF-1 rose, but most functional measures did not, and the trial was terminated early over a congestive heart failure safety signal.

     Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2011· number of people not givenobserved only, nobody was given it

   What people using it report

   • Amounts described run from about 10 mg to 25 mg taken at night, with 50 mg treated as the upper end. A recurring argument is that the higher figures buy very little, because the published rises in growth hormone and IGF-1 at the low end are already most of what the high end produces, while the unwanted effects scale faster than that.
   • A persistent split runs through these threads between long-term enthusiastic users and clinicians posting in the same thread who counsel caution about glucose and about sustained IGF-1 elevation. Both groups are regulars and neither position is fringe.
2. 02SomatropinBiologicLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 84 people given it.9 reported

   60 people given it1 trial

   • Take growth hormone away from adults who need it and most things get worse. 60 adults with a pituitary shortage, treated for about ten years, were switched onto a dummy for four months. Their IGF-1 fell sharply. Two aspects of quality of life declined. Waists grew, deep belly fat rose, and cholesterol and an inflammation marker worsened. One thing improved: their response to insulin got better. This is about people with a diagnosed shortage, not about anybody whose own levels are normal.

     The numbers 60 hypopituitary adults on GH for a mean of 10 years were crossed over to four months of placebo. IGF-1 fell from 168 to 98 micrograms per litre, two quality-of-life domains deteriorated, waist circumference and visceral fat rose, and lipids and C-reactive protein worsened, while insulin sensitivity improved.

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2012· 60 peoplepoints the wrong way

   What people using it report

   • Individual variation in blood work is treated as the central problem. People describe two to four units moving their IGF-1 substantially while the same amount moves someone else's not at all, and the more careful posters insist on a baseline test and a retest after several weeks rather than judging by feel.
3. 03OxandroloneHormonePreliminary. Studied in people, but no published study has had people take it. 1 human study where nobody was given it.5 reported

   nobody was given it1 watch-only study

   • Oxandrolone left badly burned children with stronger bones five years later. 119 children with burns over 30 percent of their body got the drug twice a day for up to two years, or a dummy pill. Treated children had stronger bones across the whole body and lower spine, and grew taller faster early on. Fewer had bones weak enough to raise fracture risk. Two years of treatment beat one. No harm was blamed on the long course.

     The numbers Randomised, up to 24 months of oxandrolone in severely burned children with five-year follow-up. Significant improvement in whole-body bone mineral content, lumbar spine bone mineral content and density, and height velocity, with treated children showing significantly greater height velocity throughout the first two years post-burn. Fewer treated children had bone density z-scores below minus 2.0, indicating reduced future fracture risk. Two years of treatment produced significantly greater gains than twelve months. No adverse effects were attributed to long-term administration in this cohort.

     Shock, 2016· number of people not givenobserved only, nobody was given it

Peptides and blends

1. 01IGF-1 LR3PeptidePreliminary. Studied in people, but no published study has had people take it. 1 human study where nobody was given it.8 reported

   2 animal or lab studies

   What people using it report

   • Low blood sugar is the centre of the entire discussion. Board write-ups describe it as by far the most frequent problem, cite clinical figures where a large minority of people receiving IGF-1 experienced it at some level, and treat a small number of severe episodes including seizure as the reason the dose ceiling exists.

   Measured in animals or in the lab

   • In pigs. It went the wrong way. Four days of IGF-1 LR3 lowered the pigs' weight gain, how much they ate, their growth hormone and their own IGF-1.

     The numbers A cautionary species difference: four days of LR3 IGF-I infusion in pigs decreased daily gain, food intake, plasma GH, IGFBP-3 and endogenous IGF-I.

     Journal of Endocrinology, 1997· animal study

   • In mice. Mice built to make extra IGF-1 in their muscles kept bigger muscles and kept their ability to repair muscle into old age. This is the main reason people think IGF-1 builds muscle.

     The numbers Muscle-restricted IGF-1 expression in mice produced persistent hypertrophy and preserved regenerative capacity into old age, the mechanistic basis for IGF-1 muscle research.

     Nature Genetics, 2001· animal study

2. 02IGF-1 DESPeptideAnimal or lab only. Only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. 2 lab studies, no human study.5 reported

   1 animal or lab study

   What people using it report

   • It is almost always run alongside other compounds, frequently the longer acting IGF-1 variant or MGF, so very little of what is reported separates it from the rest of the stack.

   Measured in animals or in the lab

   • In a dish. It was about ten times stronger than IGF-1 in cell tests.

     The numbers About tenfold higher potency than IGF-1 in cell assays.

     International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 1996· lab (cells in a dish)

3. 03GHRP-1PeptideAnimal or lab only. Only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. 1 animal study, 1 lab study, no human study.1 reported

   1 animal or lab study

   Measured in animals or in the lab

   • In a dish. GHRP-1 made sheep pituitary cells release growth hormone. It was compared with GHRH and GHRP-6.

     The numbers GHRP-1 (KP 101) stimulated GH secretion from perifused pituitary cells, compared against GHRH and GHRP-6.

     Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 1994· lab (cells in a dish)

Other compounds

1. 01FGF21BiologicModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 350 people given it.4 reported

   1 animal or lab study

   Measured in animals or in the lab

   • In mice bred to make extra FGF21. They lived much longer without eating less. It seems to work by turning down growth hormone signals in the liver. The same mice had stunted growth and bone loss. There is no human lifespan data.

     The numbers Transgenic overexpression of FGF21 markedly extended lifespan in mice without reducing food intake, apparently by blunting hepatic growth hormone and IGF-1 signalling. The same paper records that FGF21 blocks somatic growth and causes bone loss in mice. There is no human lifespan data.

     eLife, 2012· animal study