Direct answers from human tests
Sermorelin FAQ: what the tests can and can't answer
Each answer names the people in the test and the result. When a claim lacks a fair test, you'll see that limit at once.
What did Sermorelin first do as a medicine?
The first makers designed Sermorelin for very short children who had too little growth hormone. They hoped the copied brain hormone would help those children grow. Sermorelin became a prescription drug for that use, then left the US market. Researchers also tested older men. Their growth hormone and IGF-1, another hormone made by the liver, both rose [2]. The small number after a fact matches a paper in the reference list. Those results cannot tell what fits your health.
Why did the Sermorelin brand leave US shelves?
FDA had approved Sermorelin for some child growth problems. The company ended US sales in 2008 for business reasons. The drug wasn't pulled because of a known safety or failure problem. Some pharmacies can prepare it for an individual patient with a doctor's order. FDA calls the ingredient Category 1, meaning it is long-used and still under review for that kind of pharmacy work.
What new questions are researchers asking?
Researchers are asking how drugs might copy or block the brain's growth-hormone order [13]. Another review asks how the brain and body set growth hormone and IGF-1, a liver-made hormone [15]. The reviews do not name a new illness that Sermorelin has been proved to treat. They raise questions; they do not prove a new use.
What is Sermorelin made to copy?
Sermorelin is a peptide, a short chain built from protein parts. It copies the first 29 parts of a hormone order from the brain to the pituitary gland [13]. That short copy still makes the pituitary answer. Sermorelin acetate means the drug has an added salt that eases handling. Sermorelin itself contains no growth hormone.
How does the pituitary answer Sermorelin?
Sermorelin attaches to cells in the pituitary, a gland below the brain. The gland then sends out a burst of growth hormone [13]. The liver answers by making IGF-1, another hormone tied to growth. When IGF-1 rises, your body may slow the next burst. Sermorelin asks your gland to work instead of adding growth hormone itself.
Which human results did Sermorelin change?
Sermorelin changed two clear results. Healthy older men had more growth hormone after 14 days. The liver-made hormone rose too. The test included a 1 milligram amount. With the larger amount, the older men's blood results looked like the young men's results [2]. Children with low growth-hormone output grew faster [1]. The tests didn't prove an overall gain against aging.
How quickly did Sermorelin change a test result?
After one amount, the growth-hormone rise lasted about three hours [3]. IGF-1, the hormone made by the liver, rose during a two-week test in older men [2]. Child growth took far longer to measure [1]. These tests watched different changes. They cannot promise when you might feel anything.
Why does CJC-1295 stay longer than Sermorelin?
Both drugs ask the pituitary gland for growth hormone. Blood clears Sermorelin within minutes [3]. CJC-1295 was changed so it can hold onto a protein in your blood and stay far longer [3]. That explains the time difference. It doesn't prove which drug brings better health.
Sermorelin vs ipamorelin: what starts each drug's effect?
Sermorelin copies the brain's direct order for growth hormone. Ipamorelin copies ghrelin, a hormone best known for hunger [13]. Both hormones can make the pituitary gland release growth hormone. They reach that result by different routes. The drugs aren't the same.
Did a fair Sermorelin test measure sleep?
The brain's growth-hormone order plays a part in deep sleep. Deep sleep also brings large bursts of growth hormone from your body [1]. Yet no fair Sermorelin sleep test reviewed here counted who slept better or worse. That body link can't predict your sleep.
Why did one Sermorelin child test use bedtime?
Deep sleep often brings a large burst of growth hormone. One child test gave the shot below the skin at bedtime [1]. Researchers wanted Sermorelin to meet the body's usual clock. That choice explains the test timing. It is not a schedule for you.
Did Sermorelin lower body fat in a human test?
Sermorelin fat-loss claims run ahead of its research [5]. Tesamorelin, a different drug that lasts longer, did lower body fat in human tests [6]. Growth hormone can help use stored fat. Still, no fair test reviewed here proves that Sermorelin lowers anyone's body fat.
Has a Sermorelin test proved weight loss?
No paper reviewed here tested Sermorelin as a weight-loss treatment. The main body-fat findings come from tesamorelin, a different drug [6]. You can't give those findings to Sermorelin. A weight-loss benefit from Sermorelin remains unproved [5].
Did Sermorelin change testosterone in a test?
Sermorelin raises growth hormone and IGF-1, another hormone made by the liver. It does not work through the main testosterone system and is not testosterone care. One quick child test found brief rises in luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone, two hormones that direct the sex glands [8]. The test did not show a lasting change in testosterone.
Can Sermorelin raise my liver-made hormone, IGF-1?
Sermorelin raised a liver-made hormone in healthy older men across 14 days [2]. That hormone is called IGF-1. Tesamorelin raised IGF-1 by 117% in another test, yet the final result stayed within the normal range for that group [6]. The summary gives no starting and ending values. Your doctor must read your blood test in light of your health.
Did any Sermorelin test measure muscle gain?
No Sermorelin test reviewed here measured new muscle. Growth hormone and IGF-1 both help shape muscle. IGF-1 is made by the liver. Reviews ask whether changing it might ease muscle loss with age [13]. That question is not proof that Sermorelin builds muscle in you.
How is Sermorelin unlike a growth-hormone shot?
Sermorelin acts on your gland below the brain. That gland releases growth hormone. The body's brake on IGF-1, another hormone made by the liver, stays in place [13]. A growth-hormone shot puts ready-made hormone into your body. One medical writer thought Sermorelin better matched the body's normal timing [4]. No test compared the two routes for better health.
Which Sermorelin brain claims came from other tests?
A fair tesamorelin test found better scores on some thinking tasks in older adults [6]. It wasn't a Sermorelin test. Another study used MRI scans in adults born without the brain's usual order for growth hormone [14]. Most parts of their brains looked much like those of other adults.
What Sermorelin safety changes did child tests find?
Some children received 30 millionths of a gram per kilogram of body weight daily, a tiny unit called a microgram. A few made antibodies, but growth did not slow [7]. One test found brief rises in prolactin, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone [8]. Those hormones help make milk and direct the sex glands. Long adult safety tests for use against aging have not been done [5].
What time did Sermorelin child researchers choose?
One child test used one shot under the skin at bedtime [1]. The body often sends a large growth-hormone burst during deep sleep. Researchers timed Sermorelin to meet that burst. The paper tells you what they did. It doesn't tell you when to use the drug.
Did the Sermorelin tests last 3 months?
The tests ran for very different lengths. Older men had growth hormone and IGF-1, a liver-made hormone, checked across 14 days [2]. A tesamorelin thinking test lasted 20 weeks [6]. Child growth tests ran from 6 to 24 months [7]. None of those time spans sets a course for you.