Hormones
Does it raise growth hormone?
Raising growth hormone is easy to measure and easy to demonstrate. Whether raising it does anything you want is a separate question with much weaker evidence.
201,403
people in trials
37
human studies
4
compounds, animal or cell only
9
trials found nothing
Measured in people
Ranked by how many people, which is a fact about the evidence and not a judgement about the compound. The one at the top is the most studied, which is not the same as the best. Counts are never added across compounds, because the same person can appear in more than one trial.
- 200,535 people5 human studies
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 people
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 people
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 people
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 people
- 188 people2 human studies1 found nothing
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 · 123 people
found nothing65 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
- 152 people1 human study
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 growth hormone secretagogues rather than alone, which makes almost every self-report about it a report about a combination.
- 152 people1 human study
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 glucose or HbA1c on follow-up bloods, which is a documented concern with growth hormone axis stimulation and is the reason clinics check it.
- 115 people1 human study
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
- 65 people1 human study
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
- 63 people4 human studies1 found nothing
found nothing26 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
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
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
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 people
- 60 people1 human study
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 people
- 16 people1 human study1 found nothing
found nothing16 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
- 13 people3 human studies3 found nothing
found nothingSeven 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, 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 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 · no headcount in the line
- 12 people1 human study
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
- 11 people2 human studies1 found nothing
found nothingThe unmodified parent peptide in people. Eleven short children with normal growth hormone secretion were given GRF 1-29 amide at 5 micrograms per kilogram subcutaneously each evening for 6 months. Growth velocity increased in all of them, but the 24 hour growth hormone secretory profile did not differ before, during or after treatment, pulse frequency and amplitude were unchanged, and the IGF-1 increments were not significantly different at any interval. A useful reminder that a growth effect and a measurable hormone profile change are not the same thing.
Hormone Research, 1988 · 11 people
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 · no headcount in the line
- 11 people1 human study
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 people
- 10 people1 human study
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
- no headcount stated2 human studies1 found nothing
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 · no headcount in the line
found nothingIn 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 · no headcount in the line
What people using it report
- Older users report getting less from secretagogues than younger ones and several describe moving to growth hormone itself instead.
- no headcount stated2 human studies
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 · no headcount in the line
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 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated2 human studies
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 · no headcount in the line
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 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study1 found nothing
found nothingSummary 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 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
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 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
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 · no headcount in the line
Also measured, in animals or cells
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.
- no headcount stated1 human study
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 · no headcount in the line
What people using it report
- Water retention, tingling hands and occasional joint aches, the classic growth hormone excess pattern.
- no headcount stated1 human study
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 · no headcount in the line
- no headcount stated1 human study
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 · no headcount in the line
Measured in animals or cells, not yet in people
These are separated from the trials above rather than ranked against them, because they answer a different question. A result in a rat is a real result and a reason somebody ran the study; it is not a measurement of what happens in you. Where the human work is missing, the reason is usually money rather than failure, and that is set out at the bottom of this page.
- 2 preclinical studies
Measured in animals or cells
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
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
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
GHRP-1 (KP 101) stimulated GH secretion from perifused pituitary cells, compared against GHRH and GHRP-6.
Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 1994 · in vitro
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
About tenfold higher potency than IGF-1 in cell assays.
International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 1996 · in vitro
- 1 preclinical study
Measured in animals or cells
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
What people using these actually report
Uncontrolled self-reports, gathered from clinic write-ups, regulatory complaint records and public forums, and reproduced here as written. They are the best guide on this page to what people actually do, what they expect, and what goes wrong, and they cannot show that anything works, because nobody was measured against a placebo and the people who saw no effect mostly stopped posting. Both halves of that are true at once. The negative reports are kept in for the same reason.
- It is usually discussed alongside growth hormone secretagogues rather than alone, which makes almost every self-report about it a report about a combination.
Sources: Public discussion in r/Peptides, r/PeptideForum, r/Peptidesource, r/trt and weight loss subreddits, read through the PullPush Reddit archive on 2026-09-13 because Reddit's own endpoints are unreachable from this environment. 90 comments reviewed. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no comment is reproduced.
- Rising fasting glucose or HbA1c on follow-up bloods, which is a documented concern with growth hormone axis stimulation and is the reason clinics check it.
Sources: Fluid retention, arthralgia and glucose effects appear in the tesamorelin Phase 3 safety data and its FDA labelling, which is trial-derived. The sleep reports, the timelines and the abdominal fat impressions are from clinic write-ups and peptide user forums and are not from any trial of the blend. The 2026 Sports Medicine and Frontiers in Endocrinology reviews both flag the placebo effect as a real contributor to what users report on unapproved peptides.
- Older users report getting less from secretagogues than younger ones and several describe moving to growth hormone itself instead.
Sources: Public discussion in r/Peptides, r/PeptideForum, r/Peptidesource and r/Retatrutide, read through the PullPush Reddit archive on 2026-09-13 because Reddit's own endpoints are unreachable from this environment. 81 comments retrieved, of which the clearly unrelated legal-abbreviation results were discarded before writing. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no comment is reproduced.
- Water retention, tingling hands and occasional joint aches, the classic growth hormone excess pattern.
Sources: Peptide and bodybuilding forums including r/peptides, clinic write-ups and vendor pages. The appetite effect is also documented in the controlled study cited above, which is the rare case where a forum report and a trial finding agree.
- Almost never discussed alone. The overwhelmingly common pattern is pairing it with a growth hormone releasing hormone analogue, most often CJC-1295, which means essentially no self-report about it isolates this peptide from the other one.
- Age is a recurring qualifier, with older users arguing secretagogues do comparatively little for them because there is less endogenous production left to stimulate, and preferring growth hormone directly.
Sources: Public discussion in r/Peptides, r/Peptidesource, r/PeptideForum and r/Retatrutide, read through the PullPush Reddit archive on 2026-09-13 because Reddit's own endpoints are unreachable from this environment. 88 comments reviewed. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no comment is reproduced.
- Pairing with cagrilintide is commonly described by people who want stronger appetite suppression than retatrutide alone gives them, and pairing with growth hormone secretagogues appears in body composition stacks.
Sources: Public discussion in r/Retatrutide, r/PEDs, r/zepbound_support and adjacent weight loss subreddits, read through the PullPush Reddit archive on 2026-09-13 because Reddit's own endpoints are unreachable from this environment. 86 comments reviewed. Nothing above is attributed to any specific post and no comment is reproduced.
- The practice described in the medical literature is small doses of rapid-acting insulin taken around training or with carbohydrate, usually in combination with growth hormone and anabolic steroids, on the reasoning that insulin drives glucose and amino acids into muscle.
Sources: Published medical literature only: the case reports in Journal of Emergency Medicine (2019) and Archives of Internal Medicine (1994), the randomised response prevalence survey in Drug Testing and Analysis (2014), the Endocrine Society scientific statement in Endocrine Reviews (2014), and the 2023 sports endocrinology review in Revista Clinica Espanola. No forum or vendor source is used on this page.
Why the trial record looks like this
A missing trial is usually a missing sponsor. Nobody runs a nine-figure programme on a molecule they cannot own, so the compounds with the thinnest human records are often the oldest and most freely available ones rather than the weakest. Taking FGF21 as the example, because it states the problem most clearly:
FGF21 is the clearest example on this site of a native hormone whose evidence base belongs almost entirely to its analogues. Native FGF21 has a half-life too short to be a drug and no patent, so nobody has given it to people; the engineered versions (Fc-fused, glycopegylated, or otherwise stabilised) are each a company asset, and each company has paid for trials that measure what a liver drug needs to measure. That is why the human record is deep in MASH histology and empty everywhere else. Efruxifermin has already had a setback that its own page reports: the SYMMETRY phase 2b in compensated cirrhosis missed its primary endpoint at 36 weeks. Pegozafermin's programme moved to Roche in 2025. Efimosfermin, a monthly analogue, has its own page.
The longevity framing comes from a single line of mouse work. Transgenic overexpression extended lifespan in 2012, with a 2025 follow-up in obese mice, and the mechanism proposed, blunting of the growth hormone and IGF-1 axis, is the same one that connects FGF21 to reduced growth and bone loss in the same animals. Nothing in humans speaks to this either way. Any product framed as FGF21 for longevity is extrapolating from transgenic mice across a gap that the analogue trials, by design, cannot close.
A compound appears here only when a citation on its own page states this outcome and reports a result for it; naming it is not enough. Human, animal and cell work are counted separately and never merged. Participant counts are read from the study lines and deliberately undercount. Nothing here is advice, and nothing here is a recommendation to take or to avoid anything.