Drugs made to increase growth hormone
Growth Hormone Axis research peptides: what the drugs do
Drug makers sought greater growth-hormone release from the body. Trials led some drugs to treatment approval. Other drugs remain unapproved, and benefits for you depend on the findings.
Tesamorelin
With tesamorelin, patients living with HIV lost some fat surrounding their belly organs. Approval concerns that specific fat buildup. The studies didn't establish weight loss for your usual needs.
See the belly-fat findings »
Sermorelin
Height gain increased after sermorelin in children whose growth hormone was low. That child-growth problem was the earlier approved use. Adults still lack proof of improved sleep or aging.
See how children grew »
CJC-1295
Healthy volunteers had raised hormones for days after the lasting form. Their blood tests were the main measurements in small trials. Those results can't prove better everyday health.
See the blood-test changes »How copied hormones start a request for growth
Copying the brain's hormone gave drug makers a way to prompt more growth-hormone release. A peptide is made by joining a small number of amino acids, the units in proteins. Axis names the linked work of brain, gland, and liver. Research means studying the substance; the words don't guarantee approval to treat you.
Your body uses hormones to carry messages from one part to another. The pituitary, a small gland situated under the brain, receives the brain's request. That gland lets out growth hormone, pauses, then releases another burst. The liver produces a further hormone when growth hormone rises, helping tissues grow.
The treatment studies went on to test quite different needs. Less unusually stored fat was measured after tesamorelin in patients living with HIV. When children lacked enough growth hormone, sermorelin helped them add height faster. CJC-1295 raised volunteers' hormones in early trials, leaving improvements in your health unproved.
How the time of a blood draw changes the answer
Your blood report needs the lab's usual range for the test beside the result. That range shows how results compare with readings from other people. Your doctor reads your result with your age, sex, and the test used, because the number alone can't say whether you're well or ill. Another lab may use a different test and range.
During a growth-hormone burst, a blood draw can give a high reading. Between bursts, a draw can give a much lower reading. The hormone made by your liver stays steadier, though your doctor still needs to explain the result. Drugs that raise either hormone can change that explanation.
Only healthy men were tested in the brief tesamorelin study, leaving safety over years unsettled. Both hormones increased overnight, while insulin's action was tested too. Insulin helps your cells remove sugar from blood. There wasn't a clear change in the men's response to insulin [4].
Other healthy volunteers had hormone rises that lasted after CJC-1295 [15]. Later testing showed that growth-hormone bursts continued despite the higher blood levels [16]. Those studies didn't set a healthy target for your own blood test. The next question is how these drugs get the gland working.
How the body can slow release without preventing every harm
A review describes the natural hormone's action and medicines made to copy that action [8]. The pituitary answers the request by releasing growth hormone. The liver responds to extra growth hormone by making more of its tissue-growth hormone. These drugs ask for hormone release; you're reading about that request rather than replacement growth hormone.
The body can slow growth-hormone release once enough hormone is present. A drug can leave that control working while still raising hormone levels. Slower release doesn't mean the drug can't harm you. The studies haven't shown that the body's controls prevent all possible harms.
Research peptide means a substance being studied, rather than an assurance of treatment approval. Tesamorelin's approval covers the unusual fat buildup associated with HIV [2]. Sermorelin's earlier approval concerned children; an expert says anti-aging use lacks enough proof [10]. CJC-1295 has no treatment approval; the cited papers include early trials and a test identifying the drug in an unknown mixture [13][15].
How a smaller belly, greater height, and raised hormones differ
The Tesamorelin trials concerned people whose fat storage had changed with HIV. These adults aren't a match for everyone seeking to lose weight or age well, so their results can't promise those benefits to you. Fat in their bellies, livers, chests, and waists fell [1]. Non-fat weight rose too, but the deep fat reappeared after patients stopped treatment [5].
The strongest Sermorelin trial didn't concern older adults at all. Several clinics treated children whose bodies weren't making enough growth hormone, and height gain increased [12]. A review explains the drug's action [8], and expert papers disagree about its adult use [10][11]. An expert's reasons for favoring a drug aren't proof that patients felt better.
Small CJC-1295 trials gave the drug to healthy volunteers. The lasting form is held by a blood protein, so hormone rises continue longer [15][16]. A different paper identified the drug in an unknown mixture tested for banned sports drugs [13]. You can use the drug comparison to distinguish that finding from a treatment result.