Latest studies
Every paper our editors flag with a plain-language note and an evidence rating. Filter by evidence, species, or design to find what actually applies to you.
- Study · SemaxWeak / none
[Effect of a combined physiotherapeutic approach on changes in functional parameters after endovitreal surgery of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with a favorable anatomical outcome].
This is a human clinical study in which Semax appears as an active treatment component after retinal-detachment surgery — an unusual, ophthalmology-adjacent use of a tracked peptide. In 42 patients with favorable anatomical outcomes after vitrectomy, one group (n=23) received combined physiotherapy including endonasal electrophoresis of 1% Semax solution plus helium-oxygen inhalation from day 5, while the other (n=19) received 0.1% Semax nasal drops. Over 12 months, researchers reported that the combined-physiotherapy group had better recovery of best-corrected visual acuity and microperimetry parameters by month 6 than the drops group. For Semax, this is peripheral to its usual neuroprotective/nootropic framing and does not isolate Semax's contribution, since both arms received it within different regimens. The design is small, appears non-randomized/retrospectively grouped, and compares delivery-plus-adjuncts rather than Semax versus no Semax. Weigh it as weak, hypothesis-level human data; findings are specific to this rehabilitation protocol.
Vestnik oftalmologiin=—HumanJan 1, 2026 - Study · DSIPWeak / none
Therapeutic Peptides in Orthopaedics: Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions.
This narrative review, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Global Research & Reviews, surveys the mechanistic rationale for using therapeutic peptides — including BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, ipamorelin, CJC-1295, tesamorelin, sermorelin, semax, selank, and epitalon — in orthopaedic and musculoskeletal contexts. As a narrative review, it synthesises existing literature rather than generating new data; it carries no experimental controls, no patient cohort, and no statistical analysis of outcomes. Readers should weight it as an expert-curated overview, not as clinical evidence. The review's own authors acknowledge the central limitation plainly: preclinical findings are promising, but clinical trials are currently lacking. That candid admission matters. For most peptides covered — BPC-157, TB-500, ipamorelin, and epitalon in particular — the mechanistic picture is built almost entirely on rodent and in-vitro models. Tesamorelin is the notable exception, carrying FDA approval for HIV-associated lipodystrophy on the basis of Phase III RCT data, though that evidence does not transfer to orthopaedic applications. The review is useful as a...
Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviewsn=——Jan 1, 2026 - Study · TirzepatideWeak / none
Therapeutic peptides in gerontology: mechanisms and applications for healthy aging.
This narrative review from Frontiers in Aging maps nine therapeutic peptides across aging-related domains — metabolic function, telomere biology, tissue repair, neuroprotection, GH modulation, and sexual function. The authors drew on 20 primary sources selected from PubMed, Scopus, and regulatory databases through January 2026. The core finding is an evidence stratification most readers of this space already sense: FDA-approved agents (tirzepatide, bremelanotide) rest on large-scale registration-quality trial data, while investigational peptides — epitalon, BPC-157, TB-500, Semax, GHK-Cu, CJC-1295, ipamorelin — show mechanistically interesting but methodologically limited signals, predominantly from preclinical models or small, often non-replicated studies. The critical caveat is the design itself. Narrative reviews are synthesis without meta-analytic rigour; the 20-source selection pool is modest for a field this broad, and the review does not appear to have applied formal quality-grading criteria. Conclusions therefore reflect the authors' judgment rather than a systematic evidence synthesis. For readers tracking investigational peptides: the review adds conceptual framing...
Frontiers in agingn=——Jan 1, 2026 - Study · SemaxWeak / none
Semax peptide targets the μ opioid receptor gene Oprm1 to promote deubiquitination and functional recovery after spinal cord injury in female mice.
In a female-mouse spinal-cord-injury model, researchers reported that Semax improved functional recovery scores and reduced markers of lysosomal-membrane-permeabilization-driven cell death, and used RNA-seq, network pharmacology and molecular docking to nominate the mu-opioid receptor and the deubiquitinase USP18 as mediators. It is a mechanistically ambitious single preclinical study; the causal chain (mu-opioid to USP18 to FTO deubiquitination) rests partly on knockdown and in-silico docking rather than definitive pharmacology. Findings are directionally consistent with Semax's broader anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective rodent literature but remain preclinical, and the model used only female mice, limiting generalization. These are preclinical findings; human data are needed before clinical conclusions can be drawn.
British journal of pharmacologyn=—AnimalNov 1, 2025 - Study · SemaxWeak / none
The Effect of Peptide Semax, an ACTH(4-10) Analogue, on Intracellular Calcium Dynamics in Rat Brain Neurons.
Using rat brain slices, researchers reported that 1 microM Semax increased the frequency of spontaneous calcium fluctuations in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons but did not significantly change proton-induced calcium rises in cerebellar granule cells. The authors interpret this as evidence that Semax's neuroprotective action is not primarily mediated by blocking calcium entry through acid-sensing ion channels. This is a mechanistic ex-vivo electrophysiology study, useful for localizing where and how the peptide acts on neuronal networks, but far removed from clinical endpoints. It refines mechanism rather than demonstrating benefit. These are preclinical findings; human data are needed before clinical conclusions can be drawn.
Bulletin of experimental biology and medicinen=—In vitroAug 1, 2025 - Study · SemaxWeak / none
Genes That Associated with Action of ACTH-like Peptides with Neuroprotective Potential in Rat Brain Regions with Different Degrees of Ischemic Damage.
This RNA-seq study extends a Russian group's transcriptomic program on Semax (ACTH(4-7)PGP) and a related peptide in a rat middle-cerebral-artery-occlusion stroke model, here focusing on the striatum (ischemic core) 24 hours after occlusion. Researchers reported that both peptides shifted many ischemia-disrupted genes, largely inflammation-related, toward normal profiles, while the related ACTH(6-9)PGP worsened a subset. This is mechanistic preclinical work at the gene-expression level: it helps explain how Semax might act but measures no clinical or behavioral outcome here. Read it as one detailed brick in a large, single-lab mechanistic literature. These are preclinical findings; human data are needed before clinical conclusions can be drawn.
International journal of molecular sciencesn=—AnimalJun 28, 2025 - Study · SemaxWeak / none
Semax, a Copper Chelator Peptide, Decreases the Cu(II)-Catalyzed ROS Production and Cytotoxicity of aβ by Metal Ion Stripping and Redox Silencing.
This in-vitro study examined Semax as a copper-chelating peptide, testing whether it can strip Cu(II) from copper-amyloid-beta complexes and quiet the redox cycling that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) implicated in Alzheimer's neurotoxicity. Researchers reported that Semax extracted Cu(II) from Cu(II)-Abeta species, reduced associated ROS production, and showed cytoprotective effects for SH-SY5Y cells against copper-catalyzed oxidative stress. This is mechanistic biochemical and cell-culture work supporting a metal-ion/redox-silencing rationale, closely related to the other copper-amyloid Semax paper in this batch. It is several steps removed from clinical relevance. These are preclinical findings; human data are needed before clinical conclusions can be drawn.
Bioinorganic chemistry and applicationsn=—In vitroJan 1, 2025 - Study · SemaxWeak / none
The Potential of the Peptide Drug Semax and Its Derivative for Correcting Pathological Impairments in the Animal Model of Alzheimer's Disease.
In transgenic APPswe/PS1dE9 mice bred to model Alzheimer's-type amyloidosis, researchers reported that Semax and a structural derivative improved performance on open-field, novel-object-recognition and Barnes-maze tasks, and that histology showed fewer amyloid inclusions in cortex and hippocampus. This is a preclinical animal study; the design supports mechanistic and behavioral signals but not clinical conclusions. Semax is a synthetic ACTH(4-7) analogue with a long, largely Russian preclinical literature in neuroprotection, and this fits that pattern: directionally positive rodent findings without controlled human dementia trials. Weight it as an early mechanistic signal. The abstract gives no effect sizes, blinding details or adverse-event data. These are preclinical findings; human data are needed before clinical conclusions can be drawn.
Acta naturaen=—AnimalJan 1, 2025 - Study · SemaxWeak / none
ACTH-like Peptides Compensate Rat Brain Gene Expression Profile Disrupted by Ischemia a Day After Experimental Stroke.
Another entry in the same lab's transcriptomic series: in a rat transient-MCAO stroke model, RNA-seq at 24 hours found roughly 3,774 ischemia-related differentially expressed genes, and Semax (ACTH(4-7)PGP) reduced ischemia-driven distortion for over 1,100 immune- and neurosignaling-related genes. The authors tie this to a previously observed histological neuroprotective effect and show the peptide's action varies with time after occlusion. As mechanistic preclinical work it strengthens internal consistency of the Semax stroke story but adds no clinical or behavioral endpoint. Because these studies largely originate from one group and one model, independent replication would raise confidence. These are preclinical findings; human data are needed before clinical conclusions can be drawn.
Biomedicinesn=—AnimalDec 13, 2024 - Study · Melanotan IIWeak / none
Antidepressant-like and antistress effects of the ACTH(4-10) synthetic analogs Semax and Melanotan II on male rats in a model of chronic unpredictable stress.
In a chronic-unpredictable-stress rat model of depression, low-dose Semax and Melanotan II were associated with reduced or attenuated stress-induced anhedonia (loss of sucrose preference), less suppression of body-weight gain, reduced adrenal hypertrophy and preserved hippocampal BDNF, though neither peptide changed immobility in the forced-swim test. This is a preclinical behavioral-pharmacology study in male rats only; the mixed endpoint results (positive on anhedonia, null on forced swim) argue for cautious interpretation. It adds a stress and mood strand to Semax's rodent literature and offers a plausible BDNF-linked mechanism, but says nothing about human mood outcomes. These are preclinical findings; human data are needed before clinical conclusions can be drawn.
European journal of pharmacologyn=—AnimalDec 5, 2024 - Study · SemaxWeak / none
Changes of Transcriptomic Activity in Rat Brain Cells under the Influence of Synthetic Adrenocorticotropic Hormone-Like Peptides.
This study examined how Semax (ACTH(4-7)PGP) and a related peptide alter gene expression in the frontal cortex of healthy, non-injured rats, an important complement to the group's stroke work because it asks what these peptides do under normal conditions. RNA-seq found 258 (Semax) and 228 (ACTH(6-9)PGP) differentially expressed genes about 22.5 hours after dosing, predominantly a decrease in immune-related gene expression. The authors sensibly frame this as a reminder that baseline effects matter when interpreting a peptide's actions in disease models. It is mechanistic preclinical work with no behavioral or clinical endpoint, and reflects a single lab's model. These are preclinical findings; human data are needed before clinical conclusions can be drawn.
Biochemistry. Biokhimiian=—AnimalSep 1, 2024