A selective growth hormone secretagogue that stimulates GH release without significantly affecting cortisol or prolactin.
Therapeutic Peptides in Orthopaedics: Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions.
Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews|2026|Rahman O, Lee S, Seeds W
Therapeutic peptides are emerging as promising adjuncts in the management of orthopaedic injuries, grounded in their ability to modulate molecular signaling networks central to cellular medicine. By acting on key pathways such as PI3K/Akt, mTOR, MAPK…
Review
PMID: 41490200
Injectable Peptide Therapy: A Primer for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Physicians.
The American journal of sports medicine|2026|Mayfield C et al.
BACKGROUND: Therapeutic peptides are short-chain amino acids that regulate cellular functions and facilitate biochemical processes. In recent years, there has been significant growth in the global market for therapeutic peptides and thus its populari…
ReviewAnimal Study
PMID: 41476424
A new era of doping? Use of peptide and peptide-analog drugs in recreational and professional sport and bodybuilding: a critical review.
The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness|2026|Coutinho L, DE Oliveira Neves L, Camilo R
The pursuit of pharmacological enhancement in sport has evolved from the widespread use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) to novel agents such as peptides and peptide analogues. Marketed as more selective and ostensibly safer alternatives, peptid…
PMID: 41880199
The influence of ghrelin agonist ipamorelin acetate on the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis in a cichlid fish, Oreochromis mossambicus.
Animal reproduction science|2024|Gouda M, Ganesh C
Ghrelin, a peptide found in the brain and gut, is predicted to play a significant role in the control of various physiological systems in fish. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of ipamorelin acetate (IPA), a ghrelin agonist, on t…
PMID: 38996787
The growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a agonists, anamorelin and ipamorelin, inhibit cisplatin-induced weight loss in ferrets: Anamorelin also exhibits anti-emetic effects via a central mechanism.
Physiology & behavior|2024|Lu Z et al.
This study investigated whether ghrelin mimetics, namely anamorelin and ipamorelin, can alleviate weight loss and inhibition of feeding observed during acute and delayed phases of cisplatin-induced emesis in ferrets. The potential of anamorelin to in…
PMID: 39043357
Beyond the androgen receptor: the role of growth hormone secretagogues in the modern management of body composition in hypogonadal males.
Translational andrology and urology|2020|Sinha D et al.
Male hypogonadism is an increasingly prevalent clinical condition that affects patients' quality of life and overall health. Obesity and metabolic syndrome can both cause and result from hypogonadism. Although testosterone remains the gold standard f…
Review
PMID: 32257855
Attenuation of Visceral and Somatic Nociception by Ghrelin Mimetics.
Journal of experimental pharmacology|2020|N Mohammadi E et al.
PURPOSE: The anti-nociceptive properties of ghrelin have been demonstrated in alleviating inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Whether a ghrelin receptor-mediated mechanism attenuates visceral and somatic pain in the absence of active inflammation rema…
Animal Study
PMID: 32801950
Glycine-modified growth hormone secretagogues identified in seized doping material.
Drug testing and analysis|2019|Gajda P et al.
A number of unknown pharmaceutical preparations seized by Danish customs authorities were submitted for liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) analysis. Comparison with reference standards unequivocally identified the conte…
PMID: 30136411
Peptidomimetic growth hormone secretagogue derivatives for positron emission tomography imaging of the ghrelin receptor.
European journal of medicinal chemistry|2018|Fowkes M et al.
The ghrelin receptor is a seven-transmembrane (7-TM) receptor known to have an increased level of expression in human carcinoma and heart failure. Recent work has focused on the synthesis of positron emission tomography (PET) probes designed to targe…
PMID: 30282322
A stable meta-carborane enables the generation of boron-rich peptide agonists targeting the ghrelin receptor.
Journal of peptide science : an official publication of the European Peptide Society|2018|Worm D et al.
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a binary cancer therapy, which combines the biochemical targeting of a boron-containing drug with the regional localization of radiation treatment. Although the concept of BNCT has been known for decades, the s…
PMID: 30168238
Analysis of new growth promoting black market products.
Growth hormone & IGF research : official journal of the Growth Hormone Research Society and the International IGF Research Society|2018|Krug O et al.
Detecting agents allegedly or evidently promoting growth such as human growth hormone (GH) or growth hormone releasing peptides (GHRP) in doping controls has represented a pressing issue for sports drug testing laboratories. While GH is a recombinant…
PMID: 29864719
Structure-activity relationship for peptídic growth hormone secretagogues.
Drug testing and analysis|2017|Ferro P et al.
Growth hormone releasing peptides (GHRPs) could be widely used by cheating athletes because they produce growth hormone (GH) secretion, so may generate an ergogenic effect in the body. Knowledge of the essential amino acids needed in GHRP structure f…
Animal Study
PMID: 26811125
Doping control container for urine stabilization: a pilot study.
Drug testing and analysis|2017|Tsivou M et al.
Urine collection containers used in the doping control collection procedure do not provide a protective environment for urine, against degradation by microorganisms and proteolytic enzymes. An in-house chemical stabilization mixture was developed to…
PMID: 27497113
Simplifying and expanding the screening for peptides <2 kDa by direct urine injection, liquid chromatography, and ion mobility mass spectrometry.
Journal of separation science|2016|Thomas A et al.
The analysis of low-molecular-mass peptides in doping controls has become a mandatory aspect in sports drug testing and, thus, the number of samples that has to be tested for these analytes has been steadily increasing. Several peptides <2 kDa with p…
PMID: 26578461
Solid-phase extraction of small biologically active peptides on cartridges and microelution 96-well plates from human urine.
Drug testing and analysis|2016|Semenistaya E et al.
Currently liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis after solid-phase extraction (SPE) on weak cation-exchange cartridges is a method of choice for anti-doping analysis of small bioactive peptides such as growth hormone releasing pep…
PMID: 26472487
Determination of growth hormone releasing peptides metabolites in human urine after nasal administration of GHRP-1, GHRP-2, GHRP-6, Hexarelin, and Ipamorelin.
Drug testing and analysis|2015|Semenistaya E et al.
Growth hormone releasing peptides (GHRPs) stimulate secretion of endogenous growth hormone and are listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. To develop an effective method for GHRPs anti-doping control we have investigated metabo…
PMID: 25869809
Prospective, randomized, controlled, proof-of-concept study of the Ghrelin mimetic ipamorelin for the management of postoperative ileus in bowel resection patients.
International journal of colorectal disease|2014|Beck D, Sweeney W, McCarter M
BACKGROUND: Postoperative ileus is a significant clinical challenge lacking effective management strategies. Ghrelin-receptor stimulation has promotility effects in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. OBJECTIVE: This proof-of-concept, phase 2…
Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 25331030
A high-throughput LC-MS/MS screen for GHRP in equine and human urine, featuring peptide derivatization for improved chromatography.
Drug testing and analysis|2014|Timms M et al.
The growth hormone releasing peptides (GHRPs) hexarelin, ipamorelin, alexamorelin, GHRP-1, GHRP-2, GHRP-4, GHRP-5, and GHRP-6 are all synthetic met-enkephalin analogues that include unnatural D-amino acids. They were designed specifically for their a…
Animal Study
PMID: 24574167
Doping control analysis of seven bioactive peptides in horse plasma by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry|2013|Kwok W et al.
In recent years, there has been an ongoing focus for both human and equine doping control laboratories on developing detection methods to control the misuse of peptide therapeutics. Immunoaffinity purification is a common extraction method to isolate…
In Vitro
PMID: 23318763
Efficacy of ipamorelin, a ghrelin mimetic, on gastric dysmotility in a rodent model of postoperative ileus.
Journal of experimental pharmacology|2012|Greenwood-Van Meerveld B et al.
BACKGROUND: Delayed gastric emptying is a common disorder with few effective therapeutic options. The goal of this study was to investigate whether ipamorelin, a synthetic peptidomimetic that acts on the ghrelin receptor, accelerates gastric emptying…
Animal Study
PMID: 27186127