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Sermorelin

GHRH(1-29) fragment · 29 amino acids
What it is

Sermorelin is a lab-made copy of the first 29 amino acids of natural growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), the shortest synthetic piece that still carries GHRH’s full biological activity on growth hormone release.[1][2]

Pathway: GHRH. It’s a lab-made copy of the first 29 amino acids of natural GHRH, the brain’s "go" signal for growth hormone.[1][3][4]

Origin: Studied as GHRH(1-29) in children and adults, then FDA approved as Geref (sermorelin acetate) for diagnosing and treating growth hormone issues; those brand products were later discontinued.[1][5]

What researchers study it for

Research areas

Human studies and the former FDA-approved labels point to several research and labeled uses.

  • Diagnosing whether the pituitary can release growth hormone, a former labeled use for one Geref product[5]
  • Treating idiopathic growth hormone deficiency with growth failure in children, a former labeled use for another Geref product[1][5]
  • Raising growth hormone and IGF-I signals in older adults in research settings[3][4]

Evidence level

Level 4 of 4: Large human trialsSermorelin acetate was FDA approved as Geref for labeled diagnostic and pediatric growth-hormone uses, based on clinical evidence in children and related human studies.[1][5]

Why so few human trials?

Cautions

Studies and regulators point to several reasons for care.

  • The brand-name Geref products were discontinued by the sponsor and FDA withdrew those NDAs; FDA later determined the withdrawal was not for reasons of safety or effectiveness[5]
  • Research materials are not the discontinued Geref medicines[5]
  • A normal growth hormone response to sermorelin does not by itself rule out growth hormone deficiency caused higher up in the brain, according to a clinical review[1]

Sermorelin acetate was FDA approved as Geref for labeled uses; those brand products were discontinued, and FDA determined the discontinuation was not for safety or effectiveness reasons.[5]

Also called

Sermorelin goes by several names.

  • GHRH(1-29) or GRF(1-29)[1][3][4]
  • Sermorelin acetate, the salt form used in Geref[5]
  • Geref, the former FDA-approved brand name[5]

Good to know

Sermorelin is the same 29-amino-acid GHRH core that later long-acting analogs such as CJC-1295 were built from.[1][6]

Handling

Storage basics General

These general basics apply to most freeze-dried research peptides.

Most research peptides come as a freeze-dried powder in a sealed vial
Unmixed vials are generally kept cold, dry, and away from light
Mixed solutions are generally refrigerated, since they are less stable than the dry powder
Peptides 101For mixing basicsNPL Dose CalculatorTo work out concentration after mixing
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Sources and studies

These studies and official pages are the research behind this profile.