Sermorelin

Overview

Sermorelin is a synthetic peptide made of the first twenty nine amino acids of natural growth hormone releasing hormone, which is the shortest piece of that hormone that still carries its activity. Growth hormone releasing hormone is the signal the hypothalamus sends to the pituitary to tell it to make and release growth hormone, so Sermorelin is essentially a faithful copy of the active core of that natural instruction. It holds a notable place in this field as the first growth hormone secretagogue to reach approved medical use, having been approved decades ago before later being discontinued by its maker for commercial rather than safety reasons. It sits in the growth hormone axis category and pairs with Epithalon in The Legacy kit.

How it works

Sermorelin acts on the growth hormone releasing hormone receptor in the pituitary gland, the same receptor the body’s own signal uses, and in doing so it amplifies the natural instruction to produce and release growth hormone. Because it copies the real signal, it works in harmony with the body’s existing feedback system, which helps keep the response within a natural range rather than overriding it. It is cleared from the body quickly, on the order of minutes, which gives it a short and pulse like signal that mirrors how the hypothalamus normally fires. This is the same broad pathway used by the longer acting analogs in this category, with the main differences being how long the signal lasts and how strongly it binds. Researchers contrast this approach with supplying growth hormone directly, which bypasses the body’s own controls.

What researchers study

Research examines Sermorelin for stimulating the body’s own pulsatile growth hormone release through the natural pathway, and for how that compares with both the longer acting analogs and with direct growth hormone administration. Its long history, including its period of approved clinical use, gives it a more established record than many peptides in the catalog. Researchers are interested in the principle it represents, working with the hypothalamic and pituitary axis rather than around it, because that preserves the natural feedback that protects the system. As with the rest of this category, the research framing centers on the body’s own signaling. It remains a reference compound in growth hormone axis research.

Published references

• Bowers CY. History of the Development of GH-Releasing Peptides and Analogues. Growth Hormone & IGF Research, 2012.
• Walker RF. Sermorelin: A Better Approach to Management of Adult-Onset Growth Hormone Insufficiency. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2006.

Research Use Only. Not for human or animal use.