Sermorelin

What Is Sermorelin?

Sermorelin is a 29-amino-acid peptide comprising the 1-29 fragment of endogenous human growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) — the shortest fragment that retains full GHRH activity — and it stimulates the pituitary to release growth hormone. Historically it was an FDA-approved drug (brand name Geref), used both as a diagnostic agent for GH secretory capacity and therapeutically in children with growth failure. It is the best-precedented of the GHRH-type peptides. Today it is most often encountered as a compounded prescription used off-label for age-related GH decline.

Evidence

Sermorelin has the strongest clinical pedigree in this group: a published review covers its use in diagnosing and treating idiopathic GH deficiency in children, describing intravenous sermorelin (about 1 µg/kg) as a rapid, relatively specific provocative test of GH secretory capacity with fewer false positives than some alternatives ^{1Reference 1Prakash A · 1999ReviewSermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency — reviewView study →}. That evidence base is for paediatric GH deficiency and diagnostics, not for the “anti-ageing”/adult-vitality use it is now marketed for; robust controlled-trial support for meaningful benefit on ageing endpoints in healthy adults was not found in this quick pass and should be treated as uncited. Note that the FDA-approved product was discontinued (per the same era of literature, around 2008) for commercial reasons, leaving compounded supply.

Dosage & Safety

Sermorelin is a prescription/compounded peptide — not an approved dietary supplement — and this entry is informational only. The best-characterised dose is the diagnostic ~1 µg/kg intravenous test used in GH-deficiency work-up ^{1Reference 1Prakash A · 1999ReviewSermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency — reviewView study →}; that is a description of clinical use, not a personal recommendation, and the subcutaneous doses used in off-label “anti-ageing” compounding are not established by controlled trials and are not given here. As a GHRH analog it raises GH/IGF-1; formal interaction, contraindication, pregnancy and long-term-safety data for off-label adult use are not established / not assessed in this pass.

References

1. Prakash A, Goa KL. (1999). Sermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency — review. BioDrugs. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18031173/